Kong meets the Avatar
by halfdragon62
Summary: A crossover between Avatar and King Kong! First story please don't flame me full summary inside. Please have the curtesy to R&R if you read this. To be edited.
1. Chapter 1

Kong meets the Avatar, synopsis:

When Aang and co' end up on Skull Isle, they meet Carl Denham, a movie producer desperate to make a good film. Little do they know, prince Zuko has followed them. Now they must fight to free Katara and Ann from Kong. But do Aang and Kong have more in common that what is seen at first glance, and if so, can Kong be saved?

Action/ adventure/(slight) romance.

T for medium level violence and some moderately coarse language.

AangxKatara, JackxAnn

Takes place after episode 17 of book one

Copyright 2006, Noam Wegner

I do not own "Avatar: The last airbender(nor its characters)". Likewise, I do not own "King Kong(nor its characters)". However, this story is original. Though there are scenes from the King Kong movie, with a few extra bits… plus a hybrid T - rex. Plus! creatures from "the World of Kong: the natural history of Skull Isle(which I don't own, its made by the people from Weta Workshop)". Please review! (I eat reviews for breakfast… although, I've never written a story on the internet). Creative criticism, NOT FLAMES!

Please enjoy the story.

Chapter 1:

The hurricane.

Aang awoke early, he always seemed to wake early. He crept out of the cave and leaned against its mouth. He was staring out towards the sunrise. The colors always seemed to mesmerize him, almost take him captive. It was also the same with the sunsets, maybe it was the ocean, the way it sparkled blue, the same way it sparkled in the eyes of a girl he knew so well… Aang slapped himself mentally. Ever since he had heard what that stupid fortuneteller had said to Katara he had been having daydreams of him marrying Katara, or nightmares of her slapping him when he told her how he really felt. It was torture! Everyday he wanted to tell her how he felt, yet… he feared how she might react. Aang cringed as he recalled the words that Katara and Aunt Woo had exchanged.

"_so, who will I marry?" Aang heard Katara say behind the screen door._

"_will he be handsome? Oh, I hope he's tall!" asked Katara. Aang felt defeated for a moment, for he was neither tall nor handsome, he was just twelve! However, Aunt woo's answer cheered him up._

"_I sense you will be married to a powerful bender" said Aunt Woo. Aang literally leapt into the air._

"Handsome, tall. Not me" whispered Aang. Soon he began thinking of others that were powerful benders.

"Haru, Jet , wait! He's not a bender, besides Katara loathes him. Lets see…hmm…Zuko?" suddenly Aang realized the name he had just said.

"no way!" said Aang.

"Aang, who are talking to?" said a feminine from voice from behind him. He turned to see katara standing by the mouth of the cave.

"Katara! Uhhh… how much of that did you hear?" said Aang, barely able to hide his blush.

" just the "no way!" bit" replied Katara. Aang sighed in relief. But another part of him kept yelling.

'tell her! Tell her! Tell her!' . But Aang replied simply

"well in that case I wasn't talking to anyone". Katara raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"wake Sokka for me will you? I'm going to see if I can find something edible here" said Katara as she made her way into the forest. Aang watched Katara walk down the hill and had to struggle to keep himself from exploding from the near discovery Katara had nearly made. But Aang quickly calmed down and looked at the sleeping form of Sokka. There was only one way to wake him up, and only Momo knew how. Aang quickly looked around for the lemur, but he was nowhere to be seen. Until he landed on Aang's head.

"morning to you too" said Aang as he lifted the creature to the ground.

"I need you to wake Sokka" said Aang. The lemur looked at Sokka, then picked up a bug that was scuttling by. Cautiously the lemur crept up to Sokka's form, then quickly stuffed the bug up Sokka's left nostril. Momo quickly scampered away as Sokka began snorting for breath. Aang knew better than to stick around so, he quickly hid behind a boulder.

"three, two, one" said Aang counting down. Sure enough, Sokka growled as he sat up. He savagely yanked the bug from his nose.

"MOMO!" cried Sokka angrily.

Meanwhile …

Iroh walked over to his nephew who had been looking through a telescope for the last two hours.

" Prince Zuko, you haven't eaten in a while." Said Iroh slowly.

"he's on that island. I'm sure of it" replied Zuko. Iroh sighed heavily.

" you push yourself too much" said the retired General. Zuko ignored his uncle and continued looking through the telescope.

"have 20 men ready to set out on the launch" said Zuko.

"yes Zuko" replied Iroh as he made his way below deck.

Meanwhile

"ugghh! We're lost!" moaned Sokka.

"no we're not, its just a slight detour!" replied Aang cheerfully. That's the thing that Katara liked about Aang best, his undying ability to look on the bright side of life.

"oh, a detour? Really? So a large cloud covering the ocean is just a detour? We could be way off course!" replied Sokka sarcastically. Before Katara could say anything to her brother, Appa swerved to the side suddenly, but Aang quickly kept Appa in the right direction. Then, Momo began screeching and prancing around on Appa's back.

"grab him!" cried Aang. Katara quickly took hold of him and gently started running a hand down the lemur's spine, Momo relaxed.

"What's up with them?" asked Sokka.

"oh no" whispered Aang. Everyone looked ahead in horror.

"HURRICANE!" they cried in unison.

Zuko looked up to see the Avatar's flying bison, Zuko was relieved to see that he, his uncle and the twenty men on the launch hadn't been noticed. But then Zuko's face of relief turned into a face of horror as he saw the hurricane before them. There was no way of escape, they were slowly being sucked in along with the Avatar.

"Brace yourselves!" cried Iroh as they entered into the hurricane.

End of chapter 1.

Dun! Dun! Duuunnn! What shall happen to our heroes? Well… lets just say its more than just a detour...

Keep reading…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Welcome to Skull Island.

As Aang awoke, he felt something jabbing into his back. He sat up, and coughed out sea water.

"Aaarrrh!" spat Aang as he tasted the salt on his tongue. He stood slowly, barely able to keep his balance. Aang lifted his fingers to his temple and groaned softly.

"Ugghh… hmm, IM ALIVE!" yelled Aang joyfully. He picked up his glider, remembering that his friends were probably nearby. Aang scanned the area around him. He was on a very rocky beach, nearby there was a clump of trees. Aang looked up at the sky.

"Where am I?" thought Aang aloud.

Meanwhile …

Iroh frantically started toward his nephew's still body.

"Zuko!" he cried. He dropped to his knees next to the prince's form. Quickly , Iroh rolled his nephew face up. Iroh checked his pulse. The retired General sighed in relief as he felt the boy's pulse through his fingertips. Iroh scanned the beach and with a sigh of relief noticed that the launch they had used wasn't significantly damaged. Then, he noticed the dead bodies of three men. Iroh gagged as he noticed one had been impaled by a sharp rock. Zuko groaned softly and his eyes shot open.

"uncle?" said Zuko as he sat up.

Iroh turned to his nephew.

"Zuko, are you all right?" asked Iroh concerned.

"I'm fine uncle… what happened?" asked Zuko as he stood and noticed the men who were dead.

"we crashed" answered Iroh simply. Zuko stared around the beach.

"did the supplies make it?" asked Zuko. Iroh started sniffling.

"no… not even the… the tea" answered Iroh , burying his face in his hands. Zuko slowly put an arm around his uncle's shoulders. Then they heard roaring … and screaming.

"did you hear that?" asked Ann slowly.

"hear what?" asked Jack.

"I thought I heard … never mind" replied Ann. Slowly, the group made their way in – between the craggy rocks. Every once in a while, Carl would take out his tripod and camera to take a shot of an interesting statue or carving.

"Incredible… absolutely incredible" mumbled Carl. Soon the group stopped. In front of them was a village of stone. All around were spears jutting out of the ground, some, with skeletons tied to the shafts. Once again, Carl set up his camera to take a shot of the village.

"hey!"

Baxter jumped at the sudden sound; Jack chuckled for a few moments. Everyone turned to see two teens, the boy was at least sixteen, and the girl standing next to him was about fourteen. Behind them were two very strange animals. There was a large horned creature with six legs, and a small lemur – like animal with large ears. The boy and the girl were both dressed in blue.

"uhhh… hi there!" said Carl waving his hand.

"Yeah, hi, look, we're trying to find our buddy, have yah seen him, he's got an arrow on his forehead." Said the boy quickly.

"Cant say we have" answered Ann.

"Guys! Can we move along please!" said Carl, cutting in.

"Well, could we come with you then?" asked the girl. The boy shot her a glance that said "what the hell are you doing!"

"Sure" replied Ann. Soon the group was moving again, with the two teens and the animals trailing behind.

Sokka didn't like these people, not one bit. The blond woman slowed her pace so that she was walking alongside Sokka & Katara.

"so what are your names?" asked the woman politely. Before Sokka could say anything, Katara spoke.

"my name is Katara, this is Sokka, my brother, the animals are Appa and Momo".

"Pleased to meet you" said Ann as she shook Katara's hand, then offered a hand to Sokka.

Sokka stared at the hand although it had ten fingers, and reluctantly shook it when Katara nudged him.

"Pleased to meet you" said Ann as she shook Sokka's hand.

"Alright! Your name?" asked Sokka impatiently.

"Ann" she replied. As the group moved through the village, Sokka and Katara learned the names of the other men in the group. The one called Jack, slowed his pace so that he was standing next to Sokka.

"Do you guys live here?" asked Jack.

"Nope. We got caught in a storm, then the winds carried us here I guess" replied Katara.

Jack was about to continue questioning when a girls crying could be heard. Sokka drew out his boomerang slowly. Then they saw the girl. She wore scraggy and dirty clothes. And her raven hair dirtily lay upon her shoulders, slowly the girl raised her arm, and stood rigid.

"Mr. Denham I think we should go back" whispered Ann. Carl raised a hand and said

"I'll handle this" as he took out a packet of nestle chocolate.

"Look. Chocolate. You like chocolate?" said Denham holding the packet out to the girl. The girl didn't even blink. Slowly a steady flow of rain started pattering.

"I don't like this" whispered Sokka uneasily.

"Here, put it in your hand and take it!" said Carl grabbing the girls hand and putting the chocolate in her palm. Suddenly the girl started snarling and bit Carl's hand. Carl groaned angrily.

"She didn't want the chocolate!" said Jack as Carl started running after the girl. The girl ran into a crevice in one of the buildings, as Carl was about to enter an old woman snarled at him. Carl halted and everyone looked around as they realized that they were surrounded. Sokka gripped his boomerang till his knuckles turned white.

"It's all right! Just a bunch of women and old folks! … there harmless!" Suddenly Mike gasped, and Ann slowly turned to see a spear sticking out of his back. Ann screamed like she never had before.

Then…they heard the roar. It continued for about another five seconds. The group suddenly realized that men were closing in on them.

Aang had never been so frightened in his life. The scream had come from further down the beach and the roar had emanated from the inland.

"Katara?" whispered Aang as he opened up his glider and took off.

The scream and the roar had only distracted him for a moment. He was more worried that ten of his men were about to become part of a monster's breakfast. The creature was about 24 feet long, brown scaly skin, a large horn and a maw full of bone – crushing teeth.

"Uncle! Come with me!" said Zuko as he rushed forward to take the beast head – on. Iroh began circling the creature, trying to flank it. Zuko distracted the creature with a blast of flame, giving his men time to escape. The creature began lumbering towards him. But halted as something grabbed its tail.

"Gotcha!" cried Iroh as he held onto the beast's tail. The creature flicked its tail, throwing Iroh to the ground. The creature turned, and lumbered toward Iroh. Zuko quickly stepped in front of the monster and launched several blasts of fire at the creature; the creature groaned and snapped its jaws at Zuko. Zuko side – stepped, barely avoiding his arm being torn off. The creature lunged again and Zuko dodged, quickly launching another blast of flame at the monsters under belly. The monster howled and began waddling away, defeated, no breakfast was worth this. Zuko ran over to his uncle.

"You all right?" asked Zuko. Iroh nodded slowly. Zuko stood and scanned the surroundings.

"We need to move into that cove over there" said Zuko pointing to a cove further down the beach.

"Then we'll find the avatar" finished Zuko.

End of chapter 2.

Oh boy, the nightmares only just beginning…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Kong.

This was it. He was going to die. There was no stopping it now. Mike and one of the sailors were dead, Jack and Sokka were unconscious, the animals were bound and the others, Preston, Baxter, Herb, Ann and Katara were being held by the natives. And now, as he, Carl, struggled to be free from his captors, they pulled him towards their execution rock, where the sailor's head had been previously smashed. The tablet was smeared with blood, the blood of the sailor. Suddenly, a shadow passed over head. It landed in front of Carl and his captors. Before Carl knew it the natives that had held him had been knocked to the ground by… a boy? Yes ! a boy dressed in orange and yellow clothing, with a strange arrow tattoo on his forehead. The boy quickly ran past Carl and quickly freed Ann and Katara. Suddenly, gunshots were heard and several of the natives fell to the ground, dead. Quickly the other natives began fleeing into the ruins.

Soon Englehorn and his crew appeared, carrying rifles. The boy seemed unsure whether they were friend or foe, and kept staring at the guns as though they were aliens. Englehorn looked at the dead bodies of the sailor and Mike.

"seen enough!" said Englehorn angrily.

Meanwhile...

"Sir!" cried the scout that had recently returned.

"what did you see!" replied Zuko.

"the avatar! He's up there!" cried the soldier, pointing inland. Zuko looked up at the scout.

"where is he going!" replied Zuko.

"I don't know! He went with some strangely dressed people wielding strange spears! They were being followed by what seemed to be primitives sir!" said the scout.

"Take a few men with you! Follow the primitives!" replied Zuko . if he was right, then the avatar would soon be in his grasp.

Aang stared up at the sky as he sat in the rowboat. The rain was getting heavier and it looked as though a storm was coming. One of the men who had come to their rescue sat next to him. The man wore extremely dirty clothing and he bore a mustache, around his neck was a thin piece of string with a shark's tooth on it. The man held out his hand

"names Lumpy" he said. Aang shook his hand.

"Aang" replied Aang. The row boat neared a large ship.

" the SS. Venture" declared Lumpy.

"so, are the others going to be okay?" asked Aang, he had been worrying about Sokka and Katara (especially Katara) for a while, and he needed to put his mind at rest.

"I bet they're fine" answered Lumpy.

" by the way, if you need anything, come to me" said Lumpy with a wink.

" thanks" replied Aang

A few minutes later…

The ship was being constantly bombarded by the merciless waves.

"EVERYTHING NOT BOLTED DOWN GOES OVERBOARD!" shouted Englehorn over the deafening rain. As the crew members began throwing objects into the sea, Sokka and Aang stood by the railings, turning a rather handsome shade of green.

Below deck, Ann and Katara sat in their cabins. Ann looked towards her door as she heard bare feet pattering towards her door. Katara soon heard a struggle a few rooms away, she quickly ran through the door. She saw one of the natives trying to keep Ann hostage. Before she could scream, a pair of hands wrapped around her mouth. They had been captured.

Jack groggily made his way to the deck. He stumbled, and saw the necklace, one of the native's necklaces. He quickly began running back down the stairs. Aang and Sokka noticed and followed behind.

"Ann!" cried Jack as he ran through the corridors.

"Jack! What's going on?" cried Aang as he and Sokka frantically ran to keep up with Jack.

As the waves battered against the SS. Venture, no one noticed the two natives steal away with their hostages.

Jack finally reached Ann's cabin, the mirror was shattered, and there were clothes all over the floor.

"no" whispered Jack in disbelief.

Aang and Sokka ran to Katara's room. It was in the same state as Ann's room. Aang walked in, and bent down to pick up Katara's necklace. He gripped it, then slipped it into his pocket.

The men cheered as the rocks finally loosed their grip on the ship, Appa flew overhead, and landed on a clear spot on the deck.

"stop! Stop the ship!" cried Jack(followed by Sokka and Aang) as he ran up to the deck.

"they've taken Ann and Katara" said sokka.

Meanwhile…

The noise of the drums was deafening, the rain pattered down mercilessly and the repetitive use of that mysterious name: Kong. Katara had never practiced water bending without being able to use her hands. The old woman was there, chanting in a mysterious language, she followed behind as Katara and Ann were dragged up to the top of the wall. The woman placed a necklace around each girls' neck, ugly things made from animal teeth. Ann was soon tied to the end of a drawbridge, as the drawbridge was lowered, the two natives holding Katara led her back down the wall. They quickly crossed the drawbridge when it had evened out. Ann struggled against the ropes that bound her as Katara was then tied to a tree trunk two feet away. Suddenly, a roar pierced the silence. The two natives stared into the trees fearfully.

"Kong" whispered one of them fearfully. Quickly, they finished tying Katara to the tree trunk and fled back across the drawbridge. Ann and Katara looked at each other fearfully. Then looked up to see distant trees swaying. Something was coming.

Appa landed with a thud in the middle of the native's village. Suddenly, two screams pierced through the noise of the chanting. The chanting and the drumming ended abruptly. Before anyone could react, Aang, Carl and Jack leapt off Appa and began running towards the wall. The three stood in front of the gate.

"stand back!" cried Aang. Aang called upon his airbending, slowly he began to rise into the air as he concentrated on the updrafts. Carl and Jack could only look on in awe as the air around the boy began to swirl, faster, and faster. Carl began setting up his tripod but Jack quickly pulled behind cover. Aang then leapt toward the gate(in the air). The cyclone that Aang had created burst the gate apart. As Aang hurled through the air, he glimpsed Ann and Katara, but then he noticed the creature towering over them. The beast was 25 feet high, covered in fur, and it stared at Aang with angry, savage and perhaps even sad orange eyes. Aang called upon a new blast of air that hurled him forward faster, the creature roared and struck at Aang. Aang took the full force of the blow and hurtled backwards. As he met the ground he skidded. Jack quickly ran to his side. Carl stood in front of the broken gate, and gazed up at the creature in awe. The creature picked up the two unconscious girls and shot Carl an angry glare before running into the jungle with his hostages.

Up on a ledge overlooking the village, Prince Zuko's men stood in awe of what they had just witnessed.

"go back, and tell Prince Zuko everything we have just witnessed" said the leader to one of the men. Quickly he ran back down to the beach.

End of chapter 3.

If you haven't sent me a review yet, send it now.

Muahaha! They have been taken!

Muahahaha! Muahahaha! Muahaha…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Preparing for the journey.

Aang's eyes shot open as he regained consciousness. He almost immediately jumped to his feet, fearing the worst. Jack and Carl stared at the boy as though they had never seen anything so amazing in their lives. Aang turned his head frantically. The beast was nowhere in sight, and neither was Katara. Aang began walking in the direction of the draw bridge that separated the forest from the native's village. Jack quickly stood in Aang's path.

"get out of my way Jack" hissed Aang.

"your not going in on your own!" replied Jack. Aang quickly tried going around Jack, but the script writer stood in his way once again.

"look, I know you care about Katara, but it wont do her any good if you get killed" said Jack roughly. Aang thought for a moment, then nodded his head.

" fine" stated the Avatar. After a few minutes, Sokka and the crew of the SS. Venture came running up to the gate.

"what took you guys so long!" asked Aang harshly. Sokka looked up at Aang.

"we uhh… had to take care of some old friends" replied Sokka.

"natives right?" asked Aang. Sokka nodded. Englehorn stared up at the ruined gate in awe.

"what the hell did this?" asked Englehorn incredulously. Carl and Jack stared at Aang. Englehorn followed their gaze.

"You're joking" said Englehorn. Aang gave Sokka a "what should I say?" look. Sokka shrugged. The crew members were confused. They looked between their captain, the boy and the destroyed gate. Then it sank in. The crew members looked up at the boy in confusion. But Jack broke the silence.

"Look we don't have much time! That thing has Ann and Katara, we gotta go after it!". Englehorn looked up at Carl angrily.

"Alright, you'll take Hayes and fifteen others, we'll put a guard on the gate until you return, the rest of you stay with the ship" said Englehorn. Quickly, Lumpy, Choy, Hayes and the other crew members began packing Thompson's and rifles. Hayes looked around, and noticed that Aang, Sokka and Jimmy were also getting ready.

"You three ain't com'n" said Hayes. The three boys looked up at the first mate.

"What!" they cried simultaneously.

"It's too dangerous" said Hayes turning. Sokka quickly walked up to the first mate.

"There's no way I'm staying here while my sister is out there!" said Sokka angrily. Hayes turned away again and began walking towards the gate.

"Miss Darrow needs me!" said Jimmy.

"No!" replied Hayes without turning. Aang slumped to the ground. Lumpy walked towards the three boys, whistling. He casually held out three hooded jackets to the three boys. Sokka quickly caught on and grabbed two jackets, and threw one to Aang. Jimmy took one of the jackets and put it on quickly, pulling the hood over his head. Aang looked up at Lumpy gratefully. Lumpy winked and began packing a large loaf of bread. The boys slipped the jackets on and Jimmy grabbed two guns, he handed one to Sokka.

"What's this?" asked Sokka, staring at the rifle. Jimmy looked up at Sokka.

"It's a gun" said Jimmy matter-of-factly. Sokka still didn't understand. Jimmy sighed heavily and showed Sokka how to put on the safety and how to pull the trigger, then went over to his bag to pack some food. Sokka looked down at the gun in his hands.

"These people are crazy" whispered Sokka.

Aang walked up to Appa.

"I'll call you if we need you, okay?" whispered Aang into the bison's ear. The bison grumbled in reply, angry that he still hadn't been fed. Soon all the men were ready, Hayes, Lumpy, Choy, Jack, Carl, Herb, Preston, Bruce, Jimmy, Sokka, Aang, Momo(who was flying overhead), and thirteen other crew members began walking over the draw bridge.

"You've got guns, you've got food. You've got ammo. You've twenty four hours!" said Englehorn as the group began crossing.

"Twenty four hours!" asked Bruce fearfully.

"This time tomorrow, we haul anchor" replied Englehorn. The group soon made their way into the forest. Englehorn and eight other crew members stayed to guard the gate. However, what they didn't know was that they were being watched.

Zuko could afford to take his time. Soon Zuko saw the crew's leader give a signal for his crew to sleep for a while. This was their window, as soon as the last crew man fell asleep; Zuko and his men sprung from hiding and surprised the captain.

Before Englehorn could call for help, he had been gagged. Who were these people? They weren't natives. They had pale skin, and wore red armor. One of them, Englehorn guessed he was their leader, stepped forward. He had a large scar covering the left side of his face, and he had a look of merciless cunning in his golden eyes, despite the fact he was only sixteen, he was followed by a plump man with a large beard.

"Bind the others that are asleep" said the boy said commandingly to his men. Englehorn looked around to see that there were about seventeen of them, all dressed in red armor. Soon Englehorn's crew was bound. The boy looked at two of his men.

"You two! Stay here and guard the gate, we should be back in about a day" said the boy. The two men nodded.

"You stay here too Uncle" said the boy. The old man nodded reluctantly.

"Look after yourself, and remember your training" replied the old man.

"Don't worry" said the boy in reply. Soon the other fifteen men, led by the boy set out into the forest.

"They're following the others!" realized Englehorn. Englehorn looked up at the three men.

He would need a plan.

End of chapter four.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five:

With Kong.

Kong hadn't stopped running for over an hour. It would soon be dawn. The two humans in his grip struggled to no avail. Kong stopped on a ledge overlooking a valley to rest, and took this moment to look at the figures in his clenched fist. The blonde one was definitely older than the other one with the black hair. Both screamed simultaneously as he roared in their faces. He looked around scanning the area to make sure there weren't any predators nearby. The two humans continued screaming. Kong brought them back up to his face, he roared loudly, trying to shut up the humans. If they kept screaming like this, there would be a hundred V – rexes after him by dawn. The girls continued to scream.

"Why wont they shut up?" thought Kong angrily. Suddenly Kong felt a sharp pain in his finger as Ann brought down a sharp end of her necklace into his fist, his grip loosened on the two girls for just a moment. But it was enough time for them to escape his grip, Kong growled in anger. The blonde human yelled something and both humans began to run. Kong quickly made after them, but every time he tried to grab them, there would be something in his way. A branch, a boulder or a pillar. Kong would then immediately knock it away in frustration. Suddenly Kong realized they were heading into the valley.

"Damn it!" thought Kong in annoyance. If there was one thing he had learned in his isolation, it was to never, ever rush head – long into even the smallest valley. Wherever there was a valley, there was water, and that meant animals came to drink, including predators.

"Don't these humans know anything!" Kong asked himself.

She was amazed they had been able to get such a good head start on the behemoth ape. However, Kong seemed just to get more furious as more obstacles appeared in his path. Hopefully they would reach a river soon. Then… Katara wasn't sure if (even with a large supply of water) she could take on the huge ape.

"He had been able to knock Aang away like a house fly…" thought Katara as she ran.

"I hope he's okay…" she thought. Kong was gradually gaining. Ann looked around desperately as she ran, they had to find shelter. To her relief, she noticed a cave, about thirty feet away. She quickly signaled to Katara to follow her. Kong sped up. He was breathing down the girls' necks, he was getting closer. Kong reached out his arm to try and grab Katara just as she dove under the cave entrance; he missed by a hairs' width.

"So you want to play "cat and mouse? Well, two can play at that game" thought Kong. He moved away from the cave entrance, and waited.

Ann watched in complete silence as Kong moved away from the cave entrance, and away from sight. Katara sat at the back of the cave, about five feet away. Fortunately, the cave's "roof" had been too low for Kong's arm to fit in. Katara panted heavily.

"This is a nightmare…" said Katara tiredly. Ann turned towards Katara.

"Least you're not stuck in a nightgown like me" answered Ann. Katara chuckled slightly. She lifted her hand to her neck, and tore off the necklace that the natives had given her. She then reached back up to her neck, feeling for her mother's necklace. She gasped as she realized it wasn't there. She let her hand fall limply to the ground.

"I hope Aang found it" thought Katara. Suddenly she began thinking about her brother and the Avatar. Were they in the jungle, looking for her? And if they did venture into the jungle, were they being mauled by some malicious, blood – thirsty monster?

"Please be okay…" she thought. She looked up to see Ann peering outside the cave. She looked at Katara and held her fore finger in front of her lips. She picked up a stone and tested its weight. Ann lifted the rock over her head and threw it into a bush seven feet away from the cave entrance. The bush rustled as the rock brushed against its leaves. Suddenly the dark form of Kong appeared and began inspecting the bush.

"Now's our chance!" whispered Ann. Quickly, Katara jumped to her feet and both girls made their way towards the trees, however, they stopped in their tracks as a large two – legged reptile stood in their way. Ann & Katara screamed simultaneously. Just as the creature was about to lunge, a large furry hand grabbed Ann and Katara out of harms way. Kong roared in the two girls' faces, and then looked back down at the creature. Kong out – sized the creature incredibly, yet it wasn't running. It stared up at Kong, while Kong stared back. Kong roared savagely, as though saying

"Back off! Pipsqueak!" The creature faltered for a moment but stood its ground. Suddenly Kong recognized this creature. It was a pack hunter, often delaying the prey while the rest of the pack closed in… Kong turned around. He was surrounded. He held Ann and Katara above his head and roared furiously. The dinosaurs stared up at the two girls in Kong's fist hungrily. The predators slowly closed in, circling the ape. Suddenly, three of the dinosaurs lunged at Kong. The ape dodged the first two attacks and struck at the third. The creature shrieked as it sailed through the air and finally crashed against a tree trunk. The creature's body fell limply to the ground. The other dozen predators stared at their fallen comrade's dead body. One of the creatures hissed loudly and the rest of the pack slowly began slinking back into the trees, one of the creatures glanced back at Kong and hissed threateningly before scampering into the darkness of the forest. Kong glanced at the two humans in his paw. Both Ann and Katara had fainted. Kong glanced around the valley before setting off once again.

End of chapter 5.

I know, short chapter. Just wanted to show a small action scene.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Brontosaurus

It had been fourteen hours since Ann and Katara had been taken by Kong, and Aang was getting more and more anxious with each passing minute. What if he never saw her again? What if Kong had done something to Katara? These thoughts he answered himself.

"Then he'd better hope I don't find him" thought Aang, now scheming how he would make that monster suffer. Fortunately, no one had noticed Aang, Sokka or Jimmy under their disguises. The group came to a ledge overlooking a valley. Jack bent down to pick up the bony necklace that the natives had given to Ann. Lumpy walked forward, staring at the human bones littered on the ground before him.

"Christ! It's a bleed'n bone yard! They've been ripped limb from limb!" said Lumpy looking over at the disguised Aang and Sokka. The two began turning pale in horror. Jack threw the bone necklace to the ground and stood.

"Ann! Ann!" Cried Jack cupping his hands around his mouth. Carl walked forward, and stared ahead in awe as he saw all the trees had been torn apart.

"Amazing!" said Carl quietly. The group began moving on but Hayes stood in front of the disguised Jimmy, Aang and Sokka.

"You didn't see us Mr. Hayes, just keep walking" said Jimmy.

"Jesus Jimmy!" said Hayes grabbing the rifle in Jimmy's hands, then continuing to grab the one in Sokka's hands.

"Hey! We need those!" said Jimmy angrily. Hayes turned to face Jimmy.

"I'm not giving you three guns!" replied Hayes. Sokka walked up to Hayes and stared at him angrily.

"Look, my sister is out there. I'm not just gonna sit around and wait here" stated Sokka still staring at Hayes. Hayes sighed heavily, and handed the rifles back to Sokka and Jimmy. As Aang was walking past, Hayes held an arm out in front of him.

"But you have to go back" said Hayes looking at the monk. Aang stared up at Hayes in disbelief.

"What?" cried Aang in disbelief.

"You're too young, kid, and you don't even have a gun" replied Hayes. Aang sighed in defeat. Carl walked up behind Hayes and quickly tapped him on the shoulder.

"You know… you might want to think about that…" said Carl. Hayes turned to face him.

"And what does that mean, Denham?" Hayes asked impatiently.

"You haven't seen what he can do…" replied Carl.

"Just trust me, he can take care of himself" finished Carl, glancing at Aang for a moment then turning around and heading down the path. Hayes looked back at Aang.

"Fine, kid, you can come. But nobody's taking responsibility if you die" said Hayes before turning and continuing down the path. Aang, Sokka, and Jimmy began following when Lumpy and Choy began walking next to them.

"Don't worry. Me an' Choy are watching yer backs" said Lumpy taking his cigar out of his mouth and puffing out another little cloud of grey smoke as they trudged along. Aang nodded to Lumpy in thanks. Sokka quickly motioned for Aang to talk to him. Aang stepped closer so he could hear what Sokka was whispering. "What is it?" asked Aang as they walked along. "Aang…lets be careful what we say to these people" answered Sokka silently. "Why?" asked Aang, trying to keep his voice to a whisper. "That hurricane, the one that blew us here…this is gonna sound crazy…but I think it was a portal" answered Sokka. Aang quickly digested this, and then asked "a portal to what?" Sokka stopped and turned to face Aang. "To this world…" answered Sokka slowly. Aang stared at the ground in disbelief. "But…" began Aang but Sokka cut him off. "Think about it, these people are…different. All I'm saying is, let's be careful what we say, remember that". Sokka turned back and started a conversation with Choy when he had caught up. Aang soon began following behind.

**Meanwhile…**

Englehorn stared up at his captors with a mixture of hatred, confusion, and fear. Just this morning, the replacements for the watch over the gate had tried to fight back at the people in red armor. The replacements had outnumbered the strange men six to three… but they had been overcome by the strange men easily. Now there were thirteen of his crew members (and him) at the mercy of these three men. Not only that, but their leader went into the jungle with fourteen other men.

'Jack and the others will have no chance' thought Englehorn in despair. No, he had no time to indulge in fear, he needed to think straight, come up with a plan. But there were too many questions whirling around in his mind.

'What do these men want? What are they after? How is it possible for a twelve-year-old boy to break down a gate 100 feet high?'

Iroh looked down at the captive who was still awake; he was staring into space, as though trying to think of a way of escape. The Dragon of the west crouched down to face the man; the man stared at the retired general.

"I'm sorry we had to do this… but my nephew has to regain his honor, and the only way he can do that is if he captures that boy" said Iroh, careful not to spill too much information.

"I have to tell you, I'm a bit grumpy as well. All the ginseng tea I brought with me has been lost, and the last time I ate was last morning" finished Iroh looking down at his stomach. Englehorn looked at the man in confusion,

'Just let me out of these ropes and we'll see who's a better fighter! …but what do you want with the boy?' thought Englehorn, suddenly realizing the boy with the tattoo had disappeared last night. Iroh answered Englehorn's question as though he had read the captain's mind.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you why we are after the boy, all I can say is that Prince Zuko won't hurt your men as long as they give him up willingly" said Iroh keeping a level tone despite his lack of sleep. At this point, Englehorn wanted to strangle this man and his scarred nephew too. Iroh stood up and walked away passively, humming softly. Englehorn growled furiously and wriggled his hands to try and free himself from the bonds. However, he stopped abruptly when he saw a shadow pass in between one of the buildings; it was soon followed by others. A cold dread suddenly threatened to overwhelm Englehorn as he realized that the natives were moving through the village. He looked towards the three men, two of them seemed to be gambling, and the older one soon sat down to join them. Englehorn looked back towards the buildings and saw more shadows darting in between the stone buildings.

'Why haven't they noticed them?' thought Englehorn as his eyes darted between the three men and the buildings. Englehorn stared over at the men who still seemed to be unconscious. No movement from anyone, in fact, some seemed to be snoring. Englehorn frantically peered back over to the buildings and noticed more shadows darting between stone structures. Then it hit Englehorn.

'They're coming closer'.

The group walked slowly out of the forest. Some squinted as the sunshine hit their eyes. Aang walked out of the trees and looked around. They had come to a ravine, all around were carvings and statues on the stone walls depicting strange creatures, the walls were also covered in vines, and Aang decided that the natives once lived here, but were then driven away. 'But by what?' thought Aang. Soon the rest of the group walked out of the trees, panting with exhaustion. Many of them muttered "can't breathe" or "I need a breather". Then Jack spoke "guys we've lost too much ground already, get up!" he said hurriedly. Hayes replied quietly "they're not gonna quit on you, cut 'em some slack". "You've got five minutes! Everyone stay in sight!" finished Hayes. Sokka slumped to the ground and his stomach rumbled ferociously. "Lunch" he muttered taking out a lump of bread from the back pack he'd been given. Aang sat down a few feet away from the group; he needed to collect his thoughts. He assumed a meditating position and closed his eyes; slowly he began blocking out the sound of the others talking, of them eating, and the steady wind blowing through the ravine. But there was one thing he couldn't block out, Katara. Was she okay? Was she still alive? And if so, was she being tortured by that monster, Kong, thought Aang. Aang didn't often feel hatred, and whenever he did, it scared him; it was an emotion so unlike him, something he didn't feel even when facing his enemies, yet… he felt it every time he saw the giant ape in his mind's eye. This disturbed him greatly, that creature was a thing of nature, and as the Avatar, Aang had to protect nature, 'then why do I hate this animal when I love so many other ones?' thought Aang.

'Because Kong took Katara' thought Aang, answering his question. Suddenly a voice disturbed his thoughts

"You like that girl, don't you?" Aang turned his head to see Choy standing behind him. "Huh?" said Aang. "The girl, the one who wore that necklace" said Choy pointing to Katara's necklace, which Aang was clutching in his right hand. Aang looked down at the small blue necklace, and his face turned a light shade of pink as he realized that he must have taken it out of his pocket unconsciously. His blush quickly subsided, though, and he looked back at Choy. "… Is it that obvious?" asked Aang slowly. "Nah, Lumpy just said that he thinks you like her, so I came over to ask" answered Choy sitting down next to the Avatar. Aang quickly glanced over at Lumpy. In the short time he had known him; Lumpy had been the only crew member Aang had gotten to know well. Aang quickly returned his attention to Choy. "You won't… tell anyone… will you?" asked Aang. The Chinese man chuckled silently "yer secret's safe with me" he said. "but you should tell her soon, who knows what could happen… least, that's what Lumpy says" finished Choy, he stood up and made his way back to Lumpy, leaving Aang to think about what was just said.

Zuko could have chuckled. Below him and his crew, sat the Avatar, totally unaware of him or his men! This was his chance. Today he would reclaim his honor. The only trouble was… getting rid of the other men; he could easily launch a surprise attack right now and overwhelm them. But that would give the Avatar time to escape. 'Not if we capture his friends' thought Zuko. Zuko peered over the ledge overlooking the ravine again, trying to find a suitable target that could be used for ransom. But then the group below started crowding around something, a footprint! "Is that what took Miss Darrow?" Zuko heard one of the younger sailors of the Avatar's group ask the question. Soon the Avatar himself stepped through the small crowd to look at the foot print. Then Zuko suddenly realized that the Avatar's group was open to attack! He quickly whispered to one of his men "get the others" the man rushed off back to the campsite, while Zuko stayed and peered over the ledge again, he strained his ears and barely heard one of the other crew members say "there's only one creature capable of leaving a foot print that size" he said puffing out a cloud of smoke. "The abominable snowman" the sailor finished. The other crew members began muttering. Zuko looked behind him as his own crew appeared from the trees. Zuko motioned for them to jump off the ledge on his command, when the ground beneath them began to shake.

The crew members looked about them as pebbles and rocks fell from both sides of the ravine, and then smash apart as they hit the ground. Jack looked up to see Bruce running towards them. "What is it, where's Carl?" he asked quickly. "Carl? He's ah, up there, filming" answered Bruce pointing his gun in the direction from which he came, then shoving past Hayes, and started running at full speed. The other crew members glanced in the direction Bruce had come from and soon began running; Aang, Sokka, Jimmy, Hayes, and Jack stood their ground for a few moments though. Soon Herb ran past them, not even glancing at them. Suddenly Carl appeared around the corner, running from a herd of stampeding brontosaurus. "RUN!" he cried out. "Holy Christ" mumbled Jack. They then turned and began running full throttle, the sauropods not far behind. The dinosaurs were quickly gaining speed, and Aang and Sokka did likewise. "I'm calling Appa!" cried Aang as he struggled with both running and taking out the bison whistle, he blew through the mouthpiece and hoped that Appa would hear.

Back down at the beach, Appa and Momo had flown off before Englehorn and his crew had been captured by Iroh. Now they were flying above the beach about a mile from the village, searching for food. Suddenly, Appa groaned and swerved towards the inland, hearing the familiar call of the bison whistle. Momo held on for dear life as the bison swerved, and he could barely hang on as the flying bison put on a burst of speed.

Zuko stood quickly. "Follow them along the ledges! Don't lose sight of the Avatar!" said Zuko quickly, running along the ledges and trying to keep an eye on the Avatar's position through the moving jungle of brontosaurus. His men followed behind at once.

Aang had never been so exhausted or energized in his life, he had once been taught about something called "adrenaline" that makes you react faster, but Aang could barely think at the moment; at any second 10 tons of brontosaurus foot could squash him to pulp, so for the moment, his only thought was for running. As for Sokka, he was worried that he wouldn't live to finish that tasty bread he had been eating. Suddenly Bruce came running past them, and then they heard a sound like a very large bird cackling a few feet away. Aang and Sokka looked behind them to see another dinosaur coming right up behind them. Both boys screamed and they were gifted with a burst of inhuman speed, the creature still gained, however, and as Aang glanced back again he got a better look at the monster. It was about 16 feet long, with green scales along its body covered in slightly purple stripes. The creature opened its maw and Aang stared straight into a row of large fangs. Aang put on another burst of speed and the jaw missed him by inches. Suddenly a shape sprang from under one of the brontosaurus and tackled the creature hard enough to send it to the ground. Aang looked back again, it was Lumpy! Followed closely by Choy. "I did say we were gonna be watching yer back!" said Lumpy (still running), then ran forward in between Aang and Sokka, closely followed by Choy.

Zuko stopped abruptly as he realized there was no more ground in front of him, the ledge stopped. Soon the rest of his crew came up behind him. The Avatar was almost out of sight. 'Oh no, I'm not stopping here!' thought Zuko. "Jump!" yelled Zuko over the sound of 10 ton feet hitting the ground twenty fold. His men looked at him for a moment, confused. "Jump or pay the consequences!" yelled Zuko, as a small blast of flame exploded from his knuckles. His men didn't hesitate, they jumped from the ledge and tried to remain hidden from the sailors as they tried to get closer to the Avatar, and meanwhile try not to get squished. Zuko jumped as well, but he didn't bother to remain hidden.

Aang heard screaming as men were squashed under the enormous weight of the brontosaurus feet, or brought down by one of the predators that had started this stampede. Sokka lifted his rifle and turned swiftly to fire at another one of the overgrown raptors. It fell to the ground, lifeless. He then turned and began running again, staring at the gun in his hands. "This thing packs a punch!" he whispered as he ran. Meanwhile, Aang was still running and jumping for his life, armed only with his air-bending and his glider. Suddenly a huge shape cast a great shadow. "Appa!" cried Aang happily. The flying bison tried desperately to reach its human, but the huge dinosaurs prevented Appa from getting even close to his human. "Go on ahead! I'll meet you at the front of the herd!" cried Aang. The bison groaned and flew towards the front of the stampede, disappearing from Aang's sight. Zuko caught sight of the Avatar; he was just a few feet ahead! This was his chance! Zuko surged forward, the banished prince gritted his teeth and put all his energy into the last few feet, he almost had him, when a voice suddenly cried out. "Aang! Behind you!" The boy swerved his head; Zuko lunged forward, but was thrown back by a powerful blast of air that Aang had created. Zuko landed in a crack in one of the walls of the ravine, and the back of his head made contact with the back of the small crevice, the impact was so great, that rocks tumbled from the side of the ravine, blocking off the small entrance to the crevice. That was the last thing Zuko saw, before falling into unconsciousness.

Suddenly, the ravine in front of the stampede sharply steepened. Bruce was far ahead of the stampeding herd and so was the predator just behind him. The creature was gaining on him and he desperately fired his Thompson at the monster. Suddenly, he lost control of his gun and several bullets embedded themselves in the lead brontosaurus' legs. The giant creature stumbled and fell head over heels. Bruce ducked into a crevice only just in time as the giant creature skidded and crushed the poor carnivore, nearly taking the actor with it. The other dinosaurs behind the lead tried to avoid tripping over their fallen leader but tripped over large rocks sticking out of the ground in the process. Suddenly there was a mad scramble to get out of the "wrestling match" between the sailors. They desperately ducked, jumped and sprinted as fast as they could away from the madness. Appa finally had a chance to get close to the ground. Quickly, Aang and Sokka scrambled onto the flying bison. "Yip yip!" yelled Aang, and the bison cleared away from where a brontosaurus would have just squashed them. The sailors below them were now climbing up a steep slope heading back into the jungle. They were being pursued by the overgrown raptors. "We've got to help them!" cried Aang. Aang steered Appa closer to the ground where Lumpy and Choy were being forced into a corner by two of the monsters. Aang jumped from the back of the flying bison and landed in front of the two creatures approaching the two sailors. The creatures snarled and leapt forward. But Aang swung his staff in a horizontal arc, sending the two creatures flying backwards. Quickly and without a word, Lumpy and Choy climbed onto Appa. Sokka took the reigns and yelled "yip yip!" just as Aang hopped on. They continued this with a few more of the sailors, including Jack. Suddenly a terrified voice cried out "Mr. DENHAM! Help!" Aang craned his neck to see that Herb had been forced into a corner. Carl quickly ran to the ledge above Herb and reached out a hand to try and lift up the camera man. Aang quickly pulled on the reigns; the raptors were almost upon Herb. The camera man cried out again "you got to leave me!" just as the jaws of one of the raptors enclosed on Herb's leg, Herb cried out painfully and was pulled from Carl's grip. Appa landed by Carl "Carl! It's too late! Get on!" shouted Jack. Carl gave one last angry glance at the raptors that were feasting on Herb's body and then quickly climbed onto Appa, the flying bison took off, following the rest of the crew members below.

Appa landed just outside a swamp, and soon the other crew members came into view. Aang, Sokka and the crewmembers riding on Appa hopped off. Some leaning against the side of the flying bison. Hayes broke the silence "Jimmy, do a head count, I want to know how many are injured, and how bad" he said tiredly. "Injured? Four of us are dead!" exclaimed Lumpy. Aang doubled over and gagged as he felt hot bile trying to push its way to his throat, soon the force was too strong and Aang doubled over again as the bile forced its way from his throat and into the murky water of the swamp. Aang stood back up, wiping his lips, he then noticed Jack heading over to Hayes and talking to him for a few moments. Both then looked up at Aang and approached him. "Time for answers" said Hayes loudly. Everyone turned to Aang. Aang stared around him; everyone's eyes were on him. "What do you mean?" asked Aang nervously as he turned back to Hayes. "Jack has been talking to me about some pretty interesting things, like how you tore that gate apart, and how a guy in red armor with a large scar on his face was chasing you" said Hayes. Aang shuffled uncomfortably, he knew what was coming next… interrogation. "Time for answers, kid, now" finished Hayes.

**End of chapter six.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven: Entertaining Kong.**

Kong laid the two humans on the mossy ground. They definitely seemed dead, but Kong was no fool. He roughly prodded the two female humans. The one with the brown hair woke with a start. Kong snorted and Katara looked up to see the giant ape towering over her. She quickly tried scrambling away. But the huge strong fingers of the ape wrapped around her and lifted her into the air. She was slowly brought up to Kong's face. Kong growled softly and sat down slowly. Katara began frantically squirming against Kong's grip, but to no avail. The ape looked at her for a few moments, seeing if she would struggle any more. But she didn't do anything. Kong growled loudly, bearing his fangs. The girl shook slightly. 'She's afraid' thought Kong; 'hmm… what else can you do?' thought Kong. Kong lowered his hand and gently dropped the girl a few feet from the ground. The girl staggered as she landed on her feet. Katara looked back up at the giant ape. Kong looked at her impatiently, waiting for her to do something. Suddenly, a twig snapped and Kong looked to where Ann was laying. She lay completely still, but Kong could see the "dead" human shaking. Kong snorted and returned his attention to Katara who still stood before him. 'If the other one tries to escape, I'll know' thought Kong. Katara looked up at Kong; he stared down at her as though expecting something to happen. Katara suddenly realized she still had her canteen hanging by her side. Kong snarled impatiently, stamping his fist into the ground lightly. Katara slowly reached for the cap of the canteen and laid her fingers on the small piece of bone that kept the water from spilling out. She would need to be quick, if she could blind Kong with her water bending, just for a moment, she might, just might, have a chance of escaping. Kong was getting restless now; this girl wasn't doing anything interesting. 'Look, girl, you've only got a few more seconds to keep me from ripping you apart…c'mon, do something! Run even!' thought Kong. Kong watched the girl for a few more moments. 'That's it!' thought Kong about to swipe his paw at the girl. Katara pulled of the lid with lightning speed, and at her command, a stream of water flowed from her canteen. Suddenly, Kong stopped short. 'What's she doing?' thought Kong staring at the water flowing about the girl. Katara held back the jet of water when she realized that Kong had stopped short with his attack. She looked at the creature's face, realizing that Kong was looking at the water. Katara slowly waved her arm, knowing the water would flow along after it, obeying her command to follow. Kong slowly withdrew his huge paw and sat down, mesmerized by the watery snake following the movements of the girl. Katara slowly continued with the graceful movements, twirling the water around in a circle, sending it flying into the sky, then "catching" it. Kong made a strange noise somewhat like laughing, and the ape clapped his hands, obviously entertained. Kong quickly peered back to where Ann was meant to be, but then realized that she had gone. Katara looked in the direction he was looking in, a smile was about to creep onto her face when Kong suddenly lifted her up in his palm. Kong quickly ran around the ruins, carrying Katara in his right paw. Then, he saw her, Ann, she was getting away. But Kong caught up to her and blocked her escape. Ann fell to the ground in fright. From the ground, Ann stared up at the giant ape. Kong snarled and set Katara down. He knew she wouldn't run, she wouldn't dare. Ann began standing slowly, every twitch scrutinized by Kong's orange eyes. Katara watched the scene before her, Kong was snarling silently, and Ann was shaking violently. Katara noticed the waterfall behind her, and she called a glob of water from it, swirling it around noisily, trying to pry apart the tension. Kong heard the water skimming through the air, and turned to see Katara swirling the water about her. Kong turned towards Katara, once again drawn in by the tricks that Katara performed with the glob of translucent liquid. Ann blinked and rubbed her eyes, then blinked again. She had never seen anyone do something like what she was seeing in front of her, she was seeing a girl swirling water around, through the air. She looked up at Kong, who was looking a little bored now, and Katara was performing the same tricks over and over. Ann had seen this before in Vaudeville, whenever the theatre had them doing the same show again and again. Eventually the audience got bored, and the theatre had the cast start work on a new performance. But as she looked up at Kong, she could tell that he was going to do more than just get bored. Kong growled loudly, forcing Katara to lose concentration, and the water splattered on to the mossy ground. Katara looked up at Kong, he was obviously rather angry at her repetitive performance, the ape roared savagely, and lifted his paw to swipe at Katara. But Ann had already taken action; she quickly stepped in front of Kong and began juggling. Kong stiffened in mid-attack, and stared as Ann then started performing back flips. Kong sat down and clapped loudly while roaring with delight at this performance. Ann then continued to dance about for a few moments, and then finished abruptly, arms spread in the air (her typical way to finish performances). Kong chuckled loudly and clapped, then set his hands on his lap and looking at the two girls expectantly. Ann and Katara looked at each other in confusion. "Please tell me you have more tricks" pleaded Katara, noticing Kong getting restless. Ann shook her head slowly, and turned around just in time to see a large finger flick her to the ground. Kong laughed silently, and then continued to then flick Katara to the ground. The young water bender groaned softly as she tried to stand again. Ann was doing the same, but found herself flicked back to the ground just as she had gotten back up. Katara watched as Kong was about to flick her to the ground as well, but her pride suddenly compelled her to resist and she slapped the hand as it came near. "No!" she yelled as she slapped at the hand. Kong flinched in surprise and Katara quickly helped Ann to her feet. Kong began to move his hand forward again when Ann spoke up. "No! That's all there is! There isn't anymore!" she yelled at the giant gorilla. Kong snarled and roared furiously as he punched the ground in front of Ann and Katara, but the two girls held their ground as Kong smashed his fist into the ground even closer to them. Kong lifted his hand to strike again, but something held him back, and he drove his fist and his anger into a nearby pillar. Kong snorted in frustration for a few more moments, and then stared into the distance, as though thinking very hard about something. Ann glanced at Katara for a moment then returned her gaze to Kong, the ape snorted silently. Kong stared back at Ann and Katara, his face showed great sadness. Slowly, the ape began walking towards the trees, and then he leapt into the high branches and disappeared from sight. Katara and Ann stared at where Kong had just been before disappearing. Katara broke the silence. "Let's go" she whispered. Ann looked at Katara, then back towards the trees, and nodded slowly. "Let's go" answered Ann.

End of chapter seven.

I know, very boring… but the fishes will say differently.

Don't get it?

Read on...


	8. Chapter 8

How will Aang answer Hayes questions?

What lies in the swamp?

…read…Chapter eight.

(This is going to be a very long chapter)

Chapter eight:

The swamp

Aang swallowed nervously. All eyes were on him. The sailors wanted answers, and it didn't look like they would drop the subject any time soon. Aang's fingers twitched slightly, and he felt a cold bead of sweat run down his forehead. He glanced at Sokka, but Sokka shrugged his shoulders and said: "I think we should tell them, they deserve to know". Aang slowly turned his head back to meet the first mate's gaze. Aang sighed heavily, and began speaking cautiously. "the one who was chasing me, the one you saw, Jack, is called Zuko" said Aang, stopping for a moment to control his heavy breathing, if he said too much, it would just lead to more and more questions. Aang continued slowly

"He is very dangerous-" began Aang but was interrupted by Hayes. "And why exactly is he dangerous?" he asked strongly. Aang sighed deeply, and glanced at Sokka again. Sokka shrugged and said: "I think you should start at the very beginning" said Sokka. Aang looked back at the expectant faces of the sailors, and Aang reluctantly told their story, from when he was awakened from the ice to when he and his friends were sucked into the hurricane. But Sokka still couldn't understand why Aang had left out the time they had gone to the fortuneteller's village. The crew stood with their mouths agape. Aang turned back to Sokka. "Did I say too much?" asked Aang. Sokka shook his head slowly. "We would've had to tell them later anyway" answered Sokka. Aang turned back towards the sailors, their mouths still agape. "Well, what do you want to say?" asked Aang. Hayes broke the silence "so, you mean to tell us, that there's a crazy man out here, wielding two swords, has a heap load of men, they all can throw fireballs, and their looking for us!" Hayes said loudly. "Not looking for you, looking for me" answered Aang. The crew of the SS Venture began talking to each other. Bruce suddenly began talking over the noise. "Alright then we gotta get back to the ship, Englehorn's going to sail in nine hours anyway" the crew members turned to him slowly. "So! We gotta find Miss Darrow, and Katara!" answered Jimmy loudly. "Kid, didn't you hear me? We're gonna be stranded here, with people that throw fireballs!" answered Bruce. "Look Miss Darrow and Katara were great gals, no question, it's a terrible loss and we're all gonna miss them" finished Bruce. "I always knew you weren't like the tough guy you play on screen… I just never figured you for a coward" said Jack turning away. "Hey pal, hey wake up! Heroes don't look like me, not in the real world, in the real world they've got bad teeth a bald spot and a beer gut" replied Bruce. Suddenly Sokka cried out "hey!" defensively. All eyes turned to him for a few moments until Bruce broke the silence. "Be see'in ya" as he began trudging back in the direction of the wall. "Anyone else?" yelled Hayes. Two more crew members stood up and began following Bruce. Several voices protested as the two crew members made after Bruce. As the actor passed Aang, the Avatar mumbled under his breath "coward". Bruce stopped and turned towards the boy.

"Pardon?" asked the actor angrily. Aang looked up innocently and replied "you heard me". Suddenly the actor's hands grabbed the scruff of Aang's orange shirt. "Why you little -" began Bruce as the barrel of a Thompson dug into his neck. Suddenly all went quiet save for the screeching of unseen avian creatures as Bruce slowly turned his head to see Lumpy holding the gun to his throat. "Put 'em down" said Lumpy as a puff of smoke escaped his lips. Bruce laughed nervously. "You wouldn't dare" he said nervously. Aang's eyes swiveled between the SS Venture's cook, and the coward of an actor. "Try me" replied Lumpy coldly. Everyone stood in silence as Bruce and Lumpy stared at each other coldly. Bruce finally loosened his grip on Aang, and the boy slipped out of the actor's grip. The tension ceased and everyone let out a huge sigh as Lumpy lowered the Thompson. Quickly, Bruce and the two crew members began making in the direction of the village. Aang leaned against a nearby tree trunk and let out a huge sigh. Lumpy and Sokka soon stood by his side. "You alright?" asked Lumpy quietly. "Yeah" replied Aang. Sokka stared at Lumpy. "You are crazy! Were you really going to kill that guy?" exclaimed Sokka angrily. Lumpy looked at Sokka and calmly replied "even if I had pulled the trigger, he wouldn't a died… the safety was on". And with that, Lumpy let out a thunderous laugh and left to talk to Choy.

Zuko groaned loudly as he sat up, and then winced as a stab of pain exploded in his neck. He suddenly heard a voice and struggled to see who was talking. He blinked several times and his vision returned. Sitting in front of him was Lieutenant Jee. "Sir, are you alright?" Zuko ignored the question and stood slowly, despite another explosion of pain in his neck. Suddenly, Zuko frantically scanned the area around him. All fifteen men he had taken with him were there, looking at him expectantly. One or two had a sling on his arm or a few bandages. They were still in the ravine. Zuko turned to his Lieutenant. "Where's the Avatar!" he asked quickly. The Lieutenant went pale for a moment, as did the others. "Well sir… well, you see, we saw you got trapped in that crevice over there… well… we lost the Avatar, sir". The lieutenant waited for the oncoming avalanche… Zuko blinked, and he spoke in a threateningly calm tone. "Well, thank you for getting me out of that crevice" he said slowly. The men waited as Zuko continued. "But there's a bit of a problem…" said Zuko, his voice no longer calm. Slowly, a few of the crew members took a few steps back. "NONE OF YOU WENT AFTER THE AVATAR!" roared Zuko furiously, as a small cloud of steam escaped his lips, and his fists burst into flame. The crew members raised their arms, expecting a jet of flame to fly in their direction at any moment. Suddenly Lieutenant Jee cut in. "There's a reason why we didn't go after him, sir. There's a group of those creatures in the valley below!" Zuko stared at the lieutenant for a few moments, and then sent a blast of flame into the air. His men sighed with relief. Zuko turned back to his men. "Alright! Because of our delay, and because those things are in that valley, we're gonna have to go around, that means we're going to have to march triple as fast as we were before!" he said. His men groaned loudly, but listened intently as Zuko continued. "Failure to do so, and you will be tied to a tree, and left to be eaten by whatever comes your way. Is that clear?" finished Zuko. His men nodded slowly. Zuko grinned fiendishly. "Then let's move."

The natives were there. But they weren't attacking, not yet at least. Englehorn craned his neck to look at his captors. They were still playing their game; the old one seemed to be winning. Englehorn looked back towards the stone structures that the natives lived in. The "houses" were like giant, dark specters that towered over them, just watching. Englehorn saw more movement, he groaned loudly, trying to get his captors' attention. But they didn't even glance. Englehorn looked around at his now conscious crew. He was thankful that none of them had noticed the natives; that would only make things worse. Suddenly, the sound of rocks being disturbed caught Englehorn's and Iroh's attention. The retired general leapt to his feet, and drew out a small dagger. The two men that had been playing their game also climbed to their feet wearily. Iroh scanned the surroundings carefully, not even daring to blink should he miss even the slightest movement. "Sir…?" began one of the soldiers but Iroh shushed him sharply. Iroh's amber eyes stared into the village, catching a glimpse of a shadow darting between one of the buildings. Iroh silently motioned to the two fire benders to draw their swords. The men slowly did so, staring into the village. Iroh slowly walked over to Englehorn, never turning his back to the village. The retired general slowly crouched in front of Englehorn, clutching the dagger lightly. "I have to free you and your men, but I will only do so if you swear not to flee, now swear!" said Iroh slowly. Englehorn mumbled slowly, and then nodded. Iroh quickly cut the rope and Englehorn stood up and spat out his gag. "God, that tasted terrible!" he said silently. Iroh motioned to Englehorn to be silent, and they began freeing the other crew members. Iroh quickly spoke when all the crew members had been untied. "Now listen, if you run, you'll be dead before you can say 'fire lord'. Got it!" said Iroh, pointing his dagger at them threateningly. The crew members nodded slowly. There was something about this man that frightened them. Suddenly, a yell was heard. Englehorn, Iroh and the crew members turned to see the two fire benders running from a huge group of natives. "RUN!" they shouted in unison. And they all ran over the drawbridge and into the forest without hesitation.

"Alright! Those bastards are gonna come to fry our asses anytime now, we gotta get across this swamp!" yelled Hayes over the chatter of the crew members. One of the crew members stood. "On what! I'm not going to walk in that! Who knows what's in there!" said the crew member pointing at the murky water. Suddenly, Jimmy spoke up. "Mr. Hayes! There's a solid path here!" said Jimmy pointing to a mushy trail leading into the swamp. "Then that's the way we have to go" replied Hayes. The crew members stood slowly and began making their way along the trail. Aang and Sokka quickly hopped onto Appa, and the flying bison followed the crew members. The walk was long and dark. The canopies allowed barely any light to stream down and touch the murky black waters of the swamp. And from every direction there came strange screeches, squawks, or growling of some unseen creature. Soon, several pillars came into view. The crew members stared in awe as they walked past. Hayes suddenly looked ahead and halted, as did the others. Ahead of them, the path was flooded in the murky water. Aang felt a chill run down his spine, and he gulped nervously. "We need to keep moving! Come on!" said Hayes, as he began wading into the water. Reluctantly the rest of the group followed, and Appa groaned as he began to wade into the murky blackness, Aang patted the bison softly. "Yeah, me too, boy" said Aang, as though replying to some statement. Suddenly, everyone raised their rifles in alarm as a large shape was glimpsed swimming through the water near one of the sailors, and Appa groaned loudly. Suddenly, a large shape could be seen surging toward the group. "Open fire!" yelled Hayes. The crew began firing at the shape. But the shape still came at them, almost as though it were dodging the gun fire. Suddenly, the shape leapt from the water and its jaws nearly enclosed on Jack's head, but Jack quickly ducked, and the creature leapt over him, landing back in the water. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was nowhere to be seen. The crew members kept their rifles ready. Carl broke the silence. "I missed it! Was it a crocodile?" he asked. "Not like any crocodile I've ever seen" answered Hayes slowly. Aang leapt from Appa and ran as fast as he could through the water to Jack. "You okay?" asked Aang. Jack sighed heavily "define 'okay'" replied Jack with a nervous laugh. "It's coming back!" yelled Hayes suddenly. Aang turned quickly; indeed, the creature was now coming back, visible by a large fin protruding from the water. The sailors began firing again, but the creature dodged the shots and continued towards them. Aang quickly formed an air scooter and leapt onto it, and quickly sped off towards the creature. "What's he doing?" asked Jimmy. Aang sped towards the creature, the creature leapt from the water to attack the Avatar, but Aang quickly turned left and the creature missed. Aang quickly jumped from his air scooter onto a large rock protruding from the murky water. The creature turned towards the Avatar, and Aang thought he could see the beady eyes of the creature glaring up at him. Aang quickly blew a raspberry and quickly formed an air scooter and began scooting over the water again, the creature not far behind. Hayes quickly turned to the crew members. "Alright! Now's our chance! Let's move while Aang has that thing occupied!" said Hayes quickly. The group quickly began following Hayes through the swamp. Sokka stared after Aang "you'd better come back, or Katara will kill me" whispered Sokka quickly. Suddenly, he was pushed off of Appa's head to land into the water. "Sorry, Sokka, but I've got a chase to film" said Carl apologetically as he helped Preston onto the flying bison. Preston sat down on Appa's head and took the reigns. "Umm…hyaa, errr…giddyap?" said Preston fumbling with the reigns. "Yip! Yip!" Carl shouted as he noticed the crew members running back in their direction. The bison groaned and lifted into the air, Carl struggled to hold onto his camera as a blast of air hit him square in the face, but he quickly regained his balance and crawled over to Preston "okay… that was… bumpy, now lets find Aang" he said clutching the camera.

Aang glanced back; the creature was still hard on his heels. Aang looked forward again and quickly put on a burst of speed. But the creature, in turn, put on a frightening burst of speed. Aang glanced back, and his throat nearly jumped to his mouth as he realized that the creature was right behind him. Aang quickly jumped from his air scooter and landed on a small, muddy patch of land sticking out of the water. But the creature wasn't giving up; it leapt out of the water and made to snap at Aang as it sailed through the air. Aang ducked quickly and the creature's jaws clasped on thin air. With a tremendous splash, it landed in the water on the other side of the stretch of land. Aang panted softly, watching as the creature turned again and began surging through the water towards him again. Aang quickly assumed a water bending stance and waited patiently for the creature to get close enough. Above, Carl and Preston sat on the flying bison, over looking the fight below. "Quick! The camera!" said Carl, hastily motioning to Preston to hand him the camera. Quickly, Preston handed the camera to Carl, and he began filming. The creature was now drawing closer, and Aang began drawing back a 'wave' with his water bending. The creature had now come into range, and Aang flung his arms forward, and the wave swept forward, taking the creature by surprise. Aang then brought his arms down low and flung them up rapidly, the water copied and lurched upward, sending the creature hurtling through the air, until it smacked into a tree trunk and fell back into the water. Aang stood straight and frowned, he wouldn't be happy if the creature didn't live, it was only trying to survive. But he smiled as he noticed the creature's fin sticking out of the water, and heading in the opposite direction. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; AANG, THE AVATAR!" yelled a voice from above. Aang looked up to see Appa floating ten feet above, carrying Preston and a very excited Carl. "Aang, that was amazing! Ohh, this film's going to make soo much money!" said Carl excitedly. Aang sighed heavily "D'you mind giving me a lift?" he asked.

Zuko raised his hand for a halt and kneeled. They were standing just outside of a swamp, and he had just noticed a path with many footprints, including the three-toed footsteps of a certain flying bison. A faint smile splayed across his face for a moment. He stood slowly, and laughed. His men stared at him quizzically, and one of the men bravely asked "what, may I ask, has put you in such a good mood?" Zuko turned slowly, the smile still on his face. "We're catching up" he answered slowly, and they quickly set off through the swamp.

End of chapter eight.

Uh oh…they're catching up? Whatever shall our heroes do!

Oh, and the Aang meets Kong bit is coming, my word is my bond.


	9. Chapter 9

They're out of the swamp…but what waits on land?

(This is going to be a really, really… really long chapter)

Chapter 9:

Confrontations.

Katara sat down on a fallen tree log and panted softly, she and Ann had been running through the forest for about the last hour. Ann looked up into the canopy and sighed, soon she would be back with Jack, heading home. Ann turned to face Katara "how'd you do that?" she asked slowly. Katara looked puzzled "you know, with the water" finished Ann. Katara thought about how to answer this question for a few moments, finally she replied. "It's hard to explain, where I come from, it's called water bending" Ann was about to question further, but whipped around when she heard a twig snap. Katara stood slowly and unscrewed the lid of her canteen. Ann scanned the trees as she slowly crouched and picked up a thick tree branch. Suddenly, a large shape lunged form the cover of the trees and made a grab for Ann, Katara quickly pulled her back, and the monster's jaws missed by inches. Ann and Katara immediately turned and ran as fast as they could. Ann glanced over her shoulder; the creature was about eighteen feet long, a scaly back resembling that of a crocodile, the creature waddled on all fours, and was armed with gin trap jaws that seemed to be disfigured by some type of fever. The creature was gaining speed on them. Ann spotted a hollow log, and both girls quickly dove in, the creature following. Ann crawled quickly after Katara, and she glanced over her shoulder, realizing the creature was about to bring its jaws into her leg. But just as it was about to bite it was suddenly pulled backwards. The creature squealed in pain as the sounds of some large animal biting into the creature's tail could be heard. Suddenly, it was pulled all the way out, and seemed to be dangling in the air by its tail; it was then lifted out of sight, when another bone-crunching bite was heard. Ann and Katara panted silently, straining to hear any more. But were brought back to the now as a large centipede like creature crawled up Katara's arm. Another crawled up to Ann's shoulder, both girls looked at each other; both were pale as a ghost as they screamed in unison, brushing off the giant millipedes. They quickly crawled out of the log, and brushed themselves off. Then stood stiff when they heard a giant rumbling sound behind them. Both girls turned slowly, hoping that it was their imaginations, but as they turned fully, they realized this could never be true. The creature was huge, it was about 40 feet long, standing on two legs, with tiny arms folded against its chest, in its maw it carried the dead creature that had recently chased the two girls, its scaly skin had a greenish complexion, and each tooth was half the size of man's head. Katara quickly whipped out her canteen and with rapid speed, unscrewed the top and launched a spray of ice shards into the creature's right eye. The creature roared in pain and Katara cried out "RUN!" the two girls set off at a sprint. The creature shook its head, but then forgot about the ice shards imbedded in its cheek when it noticed its prey fleeing. The monster groaned and ran after them.

Jack stepped onto the firm ground of the forest as he left the swamp behind. He turned, waiting for the others to climb out of the muck. He walked over to Jimmy and Hayes and helped them out of the water. Suddenly, a huge rumbling could be heard from above, and everyone turned to see Appa flying out of the swamp carrying Aang, Carl and Preston. The flying bison landed beside the bank and sprawled out, utterly exhausted. Momo scampered over to face Appa and began chattering quickly. Appa replied with a large bellow, and the two animals continued 'discussing' what had happened in the swamp. Aang slid off Appa, closely followed by Carl and Preston. Suddenly, Sokka pushed his way forward and stood in front of Aang "you're late" stated the water tribe warrior, crossing his arms. Aang looked up to meet Sokka's gaze "you look terrible" finished Sokka, noticing the many large mud stains scattered on Aang's orange shirt. Aang looked down at his clothing for a few moments, and then looked up at Sokka, smiling. "So do you" replied the Avatar impishly. Sokka stared down at his own clothing, from the waist down; it was completely covered in mud. Both boys looked at each other for a few moments, and then burst out laughing. But Sokka stopped abruptly when he noticed Carl, he quickly side-stepped in front of the movie producer, frowning. "So, first you kick me into the mud, and then you steal Appa, tsk tsk tsk" said Sokka waving his fore finger in front of Carl. "I'm watching you…got it?" Asked Sokka, his voice becoming venomous. Carl nodded slowly. "Good" finished Sokka, and walked over to Appa's saddle bag to find something to eat. "Alright! Five minutes!" said Hayes loudly. Everyone immediately un-slung their bags and began eating, aside from Carl who was still smiling maniacally and mumbling something about "should I call it "The Tattoo Boy "". Meanwhile, Aang walked down to the very edge of the water and began practicing his water bending, he and Katara had been practicing this particular move for quite some time, and even Katara had been having trouble mastering it, yet she could still manage it better than Aang. He wasn't really sure why he was practicing it right now, but he continued on anyway. He suddenly stood still as he felt several eyes staring into his back; he turned his head to see several sailors staring at him as he held the water in mid-air. He also noticed that Carl had set up that funny looking device again. He turned and ignored the stares of disbelief boring into his back and continued practicing the move. He suddenly realized that he felt close to Katara this way, when he practiced water bending, it was something they shared. Suddenly, his thoughts were disturbed when he thought he saw a distant blast of flame in the fog of the swamp, but just as it suddenly appeared it was gone. Aang's eyes narrowed, trying to catch any small details, the blast of flame had been far away, 'if there had been a blast' thought Aang. Perhaps it had just been a figment of his imagination, but then, there it was again. Aang was convinced now, that blast had been closer this time, too close. He wasted no time, if it really was Zuko and his men, Aang would have no time to lose, he quickly strode over to Hayes. "I think we have company" whispered Aang, Hayes looked at the boy, then looked up as another blast of flame had appeared, it was much closer. "Alright! Everyone up! Move out! Go! C'mon!" yelled Hayes, the men mumbled in complaint but began packing up when they too noticed the blasts of flame. The men quickly began jogging into the jungle, glancing back now and then to see the blasts getting closer and closer. Hayes, Aang, Sokka, Carl, Preston, Jack, Choy and Lumpy quickly climbed onto Appa, and the flying bison began waddling after the main group, with Momo flying over head.

Zuko walked up onto the bank and examined the tracks, the Avatar and his companions had only been here about a minute ago. The banished prince smiled, he and his men weren't far behind. He stood up straight, and waited for his men to finish clambering out of the water. "We almost have them, keep moving!" said Zuko. And with that he ran into the forest, following the tracks, his men quickly followed behind.

Englehorn ducked just in time as the spear whizzed over his head. Englehorn quickly whipped out his pistol and fired a shot at one of the natives. The man fell to the ground, lifeless, but more burst from the trees. Englehorn turned and ran alongside Iroh as two more spears whizzed past their heads and were imbedded in nearby trees. Iroh turned and hurled his dagger, the weapon cut one native's throat and then imbedded itself into another, both natives fell to the ground, but more still came. Iroh launched a blast of flame before turning to run. Englehorn's crew and the men that had accompanied Iroh were running ahead. When suddenly, three of Englehorn's sailors smashed into Bruce and the two sailors that had come with him. All six landed in a heap on the ground, but quickly got back to their feet. The three sailors who had previously been running once again set off. "Hey! Wait-" began Bruce but was interrupted by a spear whizzing past his ear. He turned, seeing Englehorn running alongside a fat guy in red armor. "RUN, YOU FOOLS!" yelled Englehorn, whipping around to fire a shot at another native. Suddenly, the larger group of natives burst from the trees and Bruce turned and ran without another second's thought, the other two sailors followed close behind.

Aang glanced back from Appa's head, in the distance; he could hear screeches of protest from animals as though some intruder were running through their home. 'Zuko' thought Aang. Aang looked up at the canopy as Appa continued to 'jog' after the other crew members. The canopy would be too thick for Appa to get through without injury, they couldn't risk it. On Appa's back, the others had their guns held up, ready to shoot anything they caught sight of running after them. Suddenly, the trees ahead became too thick and close together for even the sailors to run past. They were trapped. "Everyone, get ready!" yelled Hayes as he leapt from Appa's back. The others jumped from Appa's back as well and raised their guns in the direction that Zuko's crew were coming from. Aang gripped his staff tightly, once again, he was about to face Zuko, and this time, there was no running away. The crews' grip on their guns tightened as a rustling sound was heard ahead of them. Then, Zuko stepped from the bushes casually, carrying a flag of truce in his left hand. The men were about to lower their weapons, but Hayes motioned to keep them ready. Hayes stepped forward cautiously, while whispering to Jimmy to stay put. Hayes stood a few feet from Zuko, who was grinning confidently. "So, you're Zuko huh?" said Hayes staring at the banished prince coldly. Zuko nodded slowly "I see the Avatar and the water tribe fool told you all about me" answered Zuko in an unreadable tone. Sokka gritted his teeth silently. Zuko continued "I also see that the water wench has disappeared". At this Aang began striding forward, a look of immense fury in his face and eyes, but Lumpy held him back. "What do you want?" asked Hayes. Zuko snickered for a few moments, and then answered "didn't the Avatar tell you? I wish to capture him and reclaim my honor". Carl began to slowly set up his camera equipment but stopped abruptly when Sokka pointed his rifle at the movie producer's head. Sokka shook his head silently and Carl abandoned the idea of setting up his equipment.

Zuko continued slowly "if you were to hand over the Avatar willingly, I might just decide not to have my men slaughter you all". Hayes sighed heavily, and looked over to the other sailors, and Sokka and Aang. The lives of the crew rested on this decision, and the lives of Aang's world, Hayes still wasn't sure he totally believed the boy's story, but all the things he had seen Aang do… and now this guy. 'What if there is another world that's fate depends upon this decision' thought Hayes. Zuko tapped his foot impatiently "times up, what's it gonna be?" asked Zuko impatiently. Hayes turned to the teen "you ain't taking anybody" replied Hayes slowly, preparing to lift his Thompson at the slightest provocation. "Wrong answer" replied Zuko, and before Hayes could react, Zuko launched an open palm of flame at Hayes's forehead. Hayes cried out in pain as he felt the flame eat away at some of his flesh, and he toppled backwards, clutching his forehead. "NOOO!" cried Jimmy as he was about to charge forward, but Jack held him back. Zuko gave a whistle and thirteen men surrounded the crew, each one holding a spear. Hayes quickly tried to reach for the Thompson lying a half a meter away, but Zuko brought down his booted foot down on Hayes's wrist. The first mate gritted his teeth and Zuko bent down to pick up the Thompson. Zuko examined the weapon for a few moments before tossing it aside carelessly "the fire nation doesn't require such trinkets". Zuko turned his head to face the crew while holding Hayes by the scruff of the neck "surrender the Avatar, or all of you shall die… and then we'll take him anyway, and you'll need to give us those weapons of yours" said Zuko angrily, as his patience was wearing thin.

The crew members slowly threw their guns to the ground and reluctantly stepped aside, so that Zuko could see Aang clearly. Zuko snickered silently "finally, after countless battles, after three years of banishment, I'm finally going to be welcomed home". Zuko stepped towards Aang, Sokka stood in front of the Avatar, gripping the rifle that Jimmy had given him. "Sokka, I'll handle this" whispered Aang, Sokka glanced at Aang, then reluctantly stood aside. Aang turned back to Zuko who was approaching slowly. Suddenly, Lumpy stood in Zuko's path when the banished prince had come within five feet of Aang. Aang's face suddenly went pale and a look of horror was spread over his face. 'What are you doing!' thought Aang. Zuko frowned "you think this wise? Standing between a hunter and his quarry?" asked Zuko angrily. Lumpy scoffed, clutching his Thompson in his left hand and pointing the barrel at Zuko "the only way you're getting to your 'quarry' is over my bloody dead arse" replied Lumpy. Suddenly, Choy stood beside Lumpy and added "mine too!" Aang looked on in horror as Zuko grinned fiendishly "no, please no" whispered Aang shaking his head slowly. Zuko replied "very well then" and his fists burst into flames. The banished prince brought up his fists to strike Lumpy, the cook dodged with surprising speed. Choy lifted his rifle to shoot Zuko, but the banished prince grabbed the barrel and twisted it out of shape. Choy looked at his rifle in disbelief and was suddenly thrown backwards, Zuko turned back to Lumpy, who was coming at him with a small sword-like weapon. Lumpy swung his weapon at Zuko's head, but Zuko ducked quickly counter attacked with a blast of flame that blinded Lumpy because of the smoke.

Aang and the others quickly rushed forward to try and help Lumpy, but the other fire benders had surrounded them and held their spears in place "don't even think about it" whispered one of them. Choy jumped to his feet and grabbed a fallen tree branch, he ran over to Zuko and tried to swing the branch at Zuko, but he ducked then jumped backwards. Before Choy could run after him, Zuko created a fire wall that circled Choy. The fire was just two feet away from Choy, Choy choked violently as he breathed in the smoke and fumes. Suddenly, Lumpy tackled Zuko to the ground, and the fire wall ceased to exist. Zuko kicked Lumpy off of him and he jumped to his feet, immediately taking up a fighting stance. Choy struggled to stand as he continued to cough violently. Zuko dodged another attack from Lumpy, Zuko quickly kicked Lumpy in the forehead. Before Lumpy could get back up, Zuko put a boot to Lumpy's throat. The banished prince panted as his fist burst into flame. Everyone watched on in horror as Zuko brought his fist back to deal a final blow, Lumpy struggled underneath the boot. Zuko panted slowly and he was about to throw the fire ball when a strong blast of air knocked him off his feet. Lumpy looked up to see Aang in a crouched fighting position. "Leave them alone. You're fight's with me" said Aang angrily. Zuko got back to his feet and cracked his neck. "So the 'mighty' Avatar has finally decided to intervene, how like him, to wait so long before showing up" answered Zuko mockingly. Aang counted to ten silently as Choy walked over to Lumpy and dragged away from the two benders. Zuko slowly assumed a fighting stance.

Aang attacked, first sending three separate waves of air blasts at Zuko. Zuko ran forward, ducking and dodging each air blast, as he dodged the last one, he sent a blast of fire at Aang, who dodged to his left. Zuko rushed forward and sent a blast of fire at Aang at point blank range. Aang back flipped, only barely staying ahead of the flame, his feet made contact with the tree behind and he pushed off and into the air and over the fire blast. He landed on his feet heavily a few feet from Zuko. The banished prince turned slowly "well, you've certainly been practicing… so have I" said Zuko as he released several complicated fire blasts. Aang dodged the first few easily, but the last one singed a corner of his shirt as he leaned backwards, he quickly summoned a gust of air to regain his balance. "How long is this gonna take?" asked Aang once he was stable on his feet again "you could just give up" replied Zuko as he charged forward, fists ablaze. He lashed out furiously, fire shooting from his fists with rapid speed. Aang ducked, sidestepped and jumped, barely avoiding a nasty burn from each blast. Aang stepped back slowly, gripping his staff in both hands. Zuko panted for a few moments "I'll tell you, if I were you, I'd give up" hissed Zuko as he crouched and spun around, releasing a horizontal arc of flame at Aang. The Avatar jumped quickly and replied "if you were me… I'd be ugly". Zuko jumped back to his feet and faked a low attack, as he expected, the Avatar began jumping upwards, Zuko quickly took advantage launched a blast of flame at him with both of his clenched fists. Aang was taken by surprise, and quickly created an air barrier around him. He was protected from the flame, but the force of the attack sent him flying backwards into one of the thick tree trunks. He slumped to the ground, he could barely move, barely feel his fingers, the air had literally been knocked from his lungs, he couldn't stand. At this point, Lumpy had gotten back up and charged at Zuko with Choy following closely. Zuko ducked as Lumpy swung the tree branch he was wielding, Lumpy put too much of his weight into the swing and fell over Zuko, landing on the ground two feet away. Choy quickly ran in to save his friend, but Zuko's open palm made contact with Choy's chin, knocking him backwards.

Zuko looked down at both crew members; he turned to three men who were surrounding the main group "tie up these three" said Zuko motioning to the Avatar. The three fire benders set to work without a sound. Within seconds, Aang, Choy and Lumpy had been bound and gagged.

Zuko turned towards the rest of the crew "you all could have lived, but I think that my fath- I mean, the fire lord will be very interested in serving out punishments to you all for assisting the Avatar" hissed Zuko.

Suddenly, gun shots were heard in the distance. Zuko turned and saw a huge blast of fire spring up from the canopy "uncle?" whispered Zuko silently. He turned to one of the fire benders that held their spears at the crew. "come with me, I think my uncle requires assistance, lieutenant Jee, your in charge until we return, don't let them escape" said Zuko, putting extra emphasis on the word 'escape'. With that, he and the fire bender raced off toward the gunshots.

The fire benders focused on the prisoners they guarded, watching for the slightest hint of movement that would betray an attempt at escape. Aang cast his eyes down; he had been caught; now there was no hope. He looked up, and realized something was missing. He turned his head, searching for whatever it was that had been 'removed'. Suddenly he realized that Hayes had disappeared,

Along with the Thompson.

Aang looked around quickly, trying to see where the first mate had gone. Then, he saw him hiding in the under growth, Hayes noticed and slowly put a finger to his lips, Aang nodded, and Hayes disappeared behind another bush. Suddenly, a scream in the distance caught everyone's attention. 'Katara!' thought Aang as he struggled with the ropes that bound him. Another, different scream was heard. "ANN!" cried Jack as he tried to get past the fire benders, but the fire benders shoved him back. "Is that your wench calling?" asked one of them mockingly, the man laughed, and Carl and Preston had to hold him back. Suddenly, Hayes jumped from the bushes and fired several shots at the fire benders, two went down, then the other fire benders turned, and the sailors struck back without warning, Carl swung his fist, barely hitting anything, while Sokka ran over to Aang, Lumpy and Choy as the sailors began to beat back the fire benders. Then lieutenant Jee was left, he assumed a fire bending stance. But suddenly he fell on his side, unconscious. Jimmy stood there, holding a tree branch in his left hand. Suddenly, a huge roar was heard not too far away. Before anyone could react, Kong ran through the clearing, barely taking any notice of the crew, Kong roared again and knocked down one of the huge trees blocking his path to Ann and Katara. Kong continued on, disappearing from sight. The sailors stood dumfounded for a few moments when Aang suddenly began running after Kong as he shouted "HEY! MONKEY! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!"

Ann glanced over her shoulder to see the huge predator almost within biting range of her self and Katara. She continued running behind Katara, who was beginning to sweat with the labor of running rather than fighting. Suddenly, they burst out of the trees and into a clearing dotted with large house-like stone structures. Ann and Katara quickly ran to a ruin which only a person would be able to fit under. The creature's jaws snapped shut on empty air just as the two girls ran under the rocky building. The creature roared loudly, trying to fit it's snout into the gap like a huge cat trying to follow a mouse into its hole. Katara looked around at the small space that she and Ann occupied, and to her horror, realized that their entrance was their only way out. She turned to Ann

"How do we get away now?" she asked fearfully. Ann panted and shook her head slowly.

"All we can do is wait, and hope that Jack and the others find us" replied Ann. Suddenly, the whole ruin shook violently. "Oh no, it's breaking in!" said Ann fearfully. Katara shook in despair "Aang, Sokka where are you?" whispered Katara as the creature could be heard roaring outside.

The crew members began running after Aang and Kong as they all finished picking up their weapons. Hayes leaned against a tree panting softly. "Come on Mr. Hayes, we've gotta go" whispered Jimmy softly. Hayes turned to the teenager "I can't Jimmy… those guys are gonna come after you and the others, you gotta go on with Jack, I'll distract these bums" replied Hayes weakly motioning to the fire benders who were now beginning to regain consciousness. Jimmy shook his head slowly "no, we're not leaving you behind" replied Jimmy, a small hint of anger in his voice. One of the fire benders now stood and began searching for a spear. Hayes turned around to face the fire bender. "JACK! TAKE JIMMY!" shouted Hayes as he ran forward to take the fire benders head on. "NO!" cried Jimmy as he began running after the first mate, but a strong pair of hands grabbed Jimmy and pulled him away as he struggled.

Soon everyone had disappeared from the clearing, leaving Hayes and the fire benders. Before the fire bender could grab a spear a well aimed fist sent him flying. Hayes lifted his Thompson to fire at the wounded soldier, but a pair of strong arms disarmed him and forced him into a headlock. Hayes gasped for breathe and quickly elbowed his assailant, giving him a moment to regain his footing.

Lieutenant Jee came at Hayes again, his fists aflame. Hayes dodged out of the way of a right across and counter attacked with an upper cut. The lieutenant dodged and grabbed Hayes's wrist. Jee's palm began to heat up and soon, Hayes's wrist was smoking. Hayes grunted in pain as Jee slowly began twisting the arm. Hayes quickly kicked the lieutenant's shin and Jee flinched, loosening his grip on Hayes. Hayes quickly broke free and dove for the Thompson he had dropped. Hayes quickly gripped the handle and swung around to fire at Jee. Before the fire nation lieutenant could react, five bullets were imbedded in his arm. The lieutenant yelled painfully as he fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding arm. Another fire bender awoke silently and silently took action, reaching towards a nearby spear. Hayes stood over Jee, pointing the barrel of the gun at Jee's chest. "So long" hissed Hayes as he was about to pull the trigger. The fire bender gripped the spear tightly. He lunged up from his low position and drove the spear into Hayes's back.

As jimmy sat on Appa's back, he could hear a distant cry of pain that he recognized as Hayes's. Slowly he put his palm up to his face and buried his tears into it as Jack put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Appa continued waddling on the ground, the canopy still being too thick for flight. Ahead of the group, Aang sprinted faster than he ever had before, in the distance, he could see the trees swaying as Kong charged through the under growth towards Ann and Katara. "How does he know where he's going?" asked Preston as he jogged along side Carl, who was trying to keep the camera from slipping out of his grip. "Simple… he's following the path of destruction" answered Carl simply as they passed a fallen tree trunk. Suddenly, Aang skidded to a stop. In front of him, there was a huge chasm fifteen feet across from where he stood to the other side. Aang peered over the edge, he couldn't see the bottom. Within moments, Sokka and the others had caught up to him. "What do we do now?" one of the sailors asked tiredly. Suddenly, a sailor pointed and shouted "OVER THERE! THE FALLEN TREE!" Everyone turned to where the sailor pointed, and sure enough, there was a log that had fallen from one side of the chasm to the other, creating a natural bridge. Aang was first to reach it, quickly, the others caught up and they began to cross, Sokka, leading Appa along by the reigns. Aang leapt the last few feet of distance and turned in impatience at the others' lack of speed. "Come on!" cried Aang hastily. As Appa reached half way over the bridge, a great creaking sound could be heard, before anyone could react, the log gave way under Appa's weight. Aang leapt forward, trying to grasp one of the sailor's hands, but his palms clasped on empty air as the sailors fell. Clinging to the logs, they fell into Chasm's abyss, out of Aang's vision.

Aang stood on the edge of the chasm, shaking fearfully. He quickly cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted "LUMPY! CHOY! SOKKA! IS ANYONE DOWN THERE!" Aang allowed for his arms to drop to his sides as he heard his voice echo in the openness of the chasm. He fell heavily to his knees beside his staff, and cried silently. But then his head perked up in hope when he heard a familiar moan. He floated back up to his feet and peered over the edge. His eyes narrowed in confusion when he didn't see anything, but then the moan came again. Aang carefully leaned out farther and his face lit up to see Appa suspended in the air by several thick vines. On Appa's back sat Jack and Jimmy with Momo scampering about frantically. Aang could also see Sokka hanging onto the reigns tied to Appa's horns, and hanging onto Sokka's leg, was Preston. "Jack! Jimmy! Sokka! Preston! You okay?" asked Aang gleefully. "DEFINE 'OKAY'" answered Sokka loudly. At this, Jack and Jimmy quickly made their way over to Appa's head and began pulling Sokka and Preston back up. "Alright, hold on, I'm coming down to help you" said Aang as he made ready to leap down. But Jack quickly cut him off "no! Aang, you have to go ahead and get to Ann and Katara, we'll try to free Appa and go see if there are any survivors". Aang nodded slowly and stood as he grabbed his staff. "Good luck Jack!" shouted Aang before sprinting off after Kong. "Keep it. You're gonna need all the luck you can get" whispered Jack.

Kong roared as he toppled another tree in his path, he stopped for a moment, sniffing loudly. He knew that smell. But he had no time for hesitation, his humans were in danger, not that he would admit that he cared. If someone were to ask him then why he was off to go save them then, he would answer; "because they belong to me, letting those savage monsters eat them would be a stain on my pride". He looked about nervously for the creature that the smell belonged to, one of the few things he feared in his own world. But he quickly brushed these thoughts away; they brought back too many painful memories. Then he remembered something that had happened last night, the night he had taken the two humans from the natives. There had been that boy that came flying through the native's gate, literally tearing it apart. The human had not thought hard about how to come out and fight, and so he, Kong, had easily been able to swipe at the boy as a human would swat at a fly. Kong was still confused and, even disturbed though. Power had radiated from that boy… immense power. Suddenly a large bat like creature swooped down to claw at Kong's face, arousing the ape from his thoughts. Kong swiped at the leathery winged pest, sending it hurtling into a tree. Kong continued following in the direction of the most recent scream that he guessed had come from the blonde human, several roars could be heard too. Kong had guessed that she would have formed another pack of juvenile T-rex like creatures. Kong knew this was going to be easy, at least until the scarred one herself entered the fray. The smell became stronger, he was getting close.

Zuko halted, frantically trying to remember the direction of the last gunshot. Zuko turned as he heard the shots again, and he quickly made off in that direction, his two men close behind. Zuko put on a burst of speed as he heard the angry shout of his uncle. 'Hold on uncle' pleaded Zuko silently. He didn't know what he would do without Iroh; he didn't know what he would do without his patient, tea-loving uncle. Already Zuko could see the retired general's limp, lifeless body. Zuko pushed the image from his mind, instead trying to redirect his focus to getting to his uncle and preventing that image from appearing. Zuko halted again when he burst into a clearing. Ahead, a huge group of natives that his men had described to him before surrounded Iroh, the two guards they had left with him, and… Zuko scowled, fighting alongside his uncle, were the prisoners, the prisoners! 'Uncle, why do you always play 'wonderful host' to prisoners?' thought Zuko as his men burst out of the trees behind him. One of the sailors fired a shot at one of the circling natives, killing him instantly. Iroh launch blast after blast of fire at the natives, scorching and burning. "CHARGE!" cried Zuko, charging toward the ring of natives, his two men hesitated a moment before shouting a battle cry and charging after their captain. Before anyone knew what was happening, Zuko and his two men had broken the ring that the natives had formed around Iroh and the crew of the SS. Venture. Iroh glanced at his nephew for a moment before knocking out the native that he had in a head lock. The natives faltered for a moment, no longer flanking their opponents, but their leader shouted a battle cry and the natives surged forward like a crashing wave. Iroh and Zuko glanced at each other, and then charged forward to take the natives head on. The last four fire benders looked at each other, then shouted in unison "FOR THE FIRE NATION!" and they surged forward, following their captain. As both the natives and the fire benders were about to charge into each other, a thunderous roar pierced through the shouts of both sides, and they both halted their charges. "Kong" whispered the natives fearfully. Gradually, the natives began fleeing back into the jungle, their leader remained a moment and pointed his club threateningly at the six fire benders before disappearing into the forest. One of the soldiers laughed nervously "yeah, that's right! You'd better run!" Zuko scanned the clearing, to his horror, the prisoners were gone.

Aang endlessly thought about how all this had happened as he followed the great ape's foot prints and path of destruction. He thought about the hurricane, and how it had brought him and his friends here, and why them? Why not some other unwary sea-farer? Perhaps it could have been chance that they flew into that hurricane, but was it? Aang didn't know all he could do now was find Katara (and Ann), get away from Kong, find the others, and then get off this cursed island. 'But then how do we get back to our world?' thought Aang silently. Then, his mind was wrenched back to reality as he realized that not too far away, was him, Kong. Smashing the trees away from his path. Aang was about to attack when he realized that the ape hadn't seen him. 'Let him lead you to Katara' thought Aang, slowly stepping behind cover, watching the ape tear the giant tree down, then continuing on his path. Aang followed stealthily behind, making sure not to be seen.

Katara prayed silently as another part of the ruin toppled over under the relentlessness of the huge predator. They didn't have much time, Ann shivered fearfully. Katara finished praying and turned to Ann. "So, what are we going to do?" she asked. Ann gave a questioning glance. "What I mean is, how are we going to get out of this one?" asked Katara. Ann looked at the ground in despair "I don't think we are" she answered quietly. Katara sat in silence for a few moments, digesting the actresses answer. She couldn't blame her for giving up, how could they fight such a large creature on their own? But Katara knew she couldn't give up now, she wasn't going to be just another snack for some hungry monster, someone would come to help…She hoped. She bowed her head again and whispered "somebody, anybody, help". Then, the ruin finally gave way, stone falling all about them. Ann and Katara looked up fearfully. There was the creature, standing over them, just staring as though enjoying a victory. The creature growled and made ready to snatch up either one of the two girls. Katara and Ann shut their eyes tightly, awaiting their fate. As the monster was about to snatch them up, an ear shattering roar echoed over the island, Ann and Katara turned to see Kong, leaping over a ledge from behind them like a huge demi-god leaping into the sky. As the great ape hurtled through the air it roared thunderously, and the two girls, despite their fear, knew they were saved. The ape struck at the T-rex like creature as he finished his flight, landing heavily in front of Ann and Katara. The predator fell backwards, smashing into a large ruin, crippling the creature for a few moments. Kong turned quickly and laid his hand on the ground palm up in front of the two frightened humans. Both of them didn't hesitate, and Kong faced the predator once both humans had leapt into his palm. The monster rose, roaring furiously.

Not too far off, Kong could hear two reply roars, and then, a third. A roar which Kong could tell was far older than the roars of the other predators.

'The scarred one'

Thought Kong, a small tremble of fear running from head to toe. One of the humans in his palm shook slightly and Kong glanced down to see that it was the brunette. She was looking up at him with questioning fear. She had heard the roars. The ape looked back up at the predator in front of him. Kong held the humans closer to him as he lunged forward, bringing up his left fist in an uppercut that shattered the young predator's jaw. The creature collapsed to the ground in pain. Kong looked down at the juvenile in pity. He looked up to see if this creature's reinforcements had come yet, including the scarred one. Kong heaved a sigh of relief as he realized that they weren't close yet. He looked down at the juvenile again, wondering if he should finish it off, but decided there wasn't time. He quickly turned and began running on his three available limbs.

Katara was speechless throughout the short battle, being so up close to what was happening, that she was actually apart of it, as well as Ann. When she had heard the roar, she had shook violently 'not more' she had thought. Kong had looked down at her, a look of pure fear written on his face that anyone could see, which surprised Katara greatly, with the ape not human. But soon, the ape was running into the forest, carrying her and Ann. Just before they disappeared into the trees, away from the predators, Katara thought she saw a figure draped in yellow and orange emerge from the opposite side of the ruin filled clearing. 'Aang' she thought.

**End of chapter 9.**

Pleased don't be put off by the length of this chapter. This story is getting better (I hope).

Please review while you think about what you've been reading!(its all leading up to something BIG).

By the way, does Aang and co' know that Zuko is Ozai's son?


	10. Chapter 10

Hello there, and welcome to chapter 10!

Today, ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts and enjoy this one heck of a wild ride!

Chapter 10: The legends clash.

Englehorn leaned against a large boulder, totally exhausted. Around him, some of the crew of the Venture were panting, coughing, or trying to quench their thirst. Bruce looked up at everyone. "So… we got away, good, we can head back to the ship" said Bruce, starting to make his way to where he thought the gate was. But Englehorn gripped the actor's shoulder, halting him. "We can't go back, those natives… they will have re-fortified their village" said Englehorn quietly. A silence fell over the group as everyone digested that they weren't going home any time soon. Bruce pulled away from Englehorn's grip "alright then, wise guy, what do we do now then?" Englehorn was silent for a few moments. Then, a thought came to him, he laughed quietly. Bruce sighed in annoyance "I knew it, this bugger was crazy all along, wasn't he?" thought Bruce out loud. Englehorn's laugh soon subsided and he spoke "we find Carl Denham" he answered finally. "But why?" asked one of the crew members. "Because, the boy will be with them, and besides, I need to shoot something besides natives. Namely, Carl Denham"

Aang scanned the area from the ledge; he saw a huge green-scaled creature writhing in pain. Aang turned away from the sight, and saw a huge dark shape disappearing into the forest. Aang could've sworn he'd seen the shape carrying two figures, one dressed in pink, and the other in blue. 'Katara' he realized, as he opened up his glider, and he quickly called a strong blast of wind that lifted him into the air. He flew just over the forest canopy where Kong had disappeared into the trees, trying to see the ape under the green canopy. Nothing could be seen from above, so he closed up his glider and dove through the canopy, shielding himself from the twigs of the canopy with an updraft of air that also cushioned his fall. He quickly scanned the area about him. There! He could see the ape running full throttle 40 meters ahead. He began after Kong, air bending away the air in front of him to prevent friction. Slowly, he began to gain on the ape, he was nearly close enough to jump over the ape and block his escape. Suddenly, Kong leapt forward, jumping over a great chasm. Aang was barely able to open up his glider when he went flying over the edge; he summoned an updraft of air, allowing him to reach the other side. He landed softly on ledge, closing his glider, and continuing his chase after Kong, who had a brief head start. The terrain was slowly turning from forest to grassy clearings, Aang put on a burst of speed, despite his already burning muscles. Kong skidded to a stop in front of an ancient wall. All around were scattered remains of pillars that may have once held up great stone structures. Aang quickly ducked behind cover, peering over the boulder to see Kong attempting to climb the wall. However, the wall was too smooth to find a good hold and Kong slipped back down, careful not to drop Ann or Katara. Kong turned around, watching for any movement in the trees, and then carefully set down Ann and Katara. Kong turned to face the wall once again and began pounding on the ancient stone, causing the wall to creak with the force of the strike.

Ann and Katara stepped back to a safe distance. "What's he doing?" asked Katara silently. "I think he's trying to tear down the wall" answered Ann, looking toward the trees, expecting some huge predator to come crashing through the trees at any moment. "Psssssssttt!" Katara and Ann both looked about in surprise. Katara then spotted a tattooed head peaking over a boulder. "Aang!" she exclaimed silently, in a mixture of relief and joy. Aang brought his pointing finger up to his lips, ushering them to be quiet, he then quietly motioned for them to approach as Kong smashed into the wall again, creating a huge crack. Both girls quickly hid behind the boulder alongside Aang, Katara wrapped both arms around the young air bender.

"Thank gods Aang, you're alive!" she whispered. "You're…choking…me" he replied silently and Katara loosened her hug to allow Aang to breath. Both separated and Ann leaned forward intently, a troubled look on her face. "Where…where's Jack?" she asked fearfully. A great thud echoed through the ground, Aang peeked over the boulder to see the wall nearly massacred. "I'll explain later, right now we have to go, now" replied Aang, grabbing his glider. He quickly peered over the boulder again "c'mon" he whispered, and he slowly darted between the boulders (with Ann and Katara close behind). Finally, they made it to the edge of the forest, just as Kong finally massacred the remains of the wall. "Quick! Go!" ushered Aang, following right after the two girls into the forest.

Kong turned, expecting the two human females to be waiting for him to pick them up so they could continue onward. Much to his dismay, they weren't there. Kong quickly searched behind the boulders and pillars, searching for any sign. He began to panic quickly; the scarred one would be here any minute. Suddenly, he noticed the tiny human tracks leading into the forest. "Bloody humans, think they can go anywhere" thought Kong as he set off after them.

Zuko couldn't stand it! They had gotten away, right from under his nose! "I can't believe you untied them! You have to stop with being such a kind host! Haven't you learned from when we had captured that earth kingdom spy! Sheesh! " yelled Zuko angrily to his uncle as they trudged back to where his men were holding the Avatar. "If I hadn't freed them, I wouldn't be talking to you right now" replied Iroh calmly. Zuko inhaled deeply, then exhaled a blast of flame skyward. As they neared where the rest of the crew were, they could hear yelling and shouting. Zuko quietly gestured to his uncle and to his men to get low. Slowly, they got closer to the site. Zuko peered through the foliage to see the men in disarray, with several men being treated for wounds and injuries. Zuko strolled into the clearing, his uncle and his men close behind. A medic looked up to acknowledge their presence and quickly strode forward. "Captain Zuko" he said, bowing his head. "Report" replied Zuko commandingly. "They got us by surprise, we didn't even have a chance to fight back, they just… they overwhelmed us, sir" replied the medic quietly, as though hoping not to receive any punishment. Zuko nodded with barely controlled fury "carry on" he finished without any emotion. The medic quickly bustled away to take care of another injured fire bender. Zuko scanned the clearing for lieutenant Jee, spotting him sitting on the edge of the clearing talking to a younger soldier. Zuko walked over calmly. Jee noticed and inclined his head. Zuko stood in front of him, looking over him like a dark specter. "I'm going to base you over a spit" he hissed furiously.

The under growth whizzed by as Aang lead Katara and Ann to (where he hoped there was) a good place to hide. Aang glanced over his shoulder many times, expecting the giant ape to come lunging out of the trees any moment. Gradually, all three began to slow their pace, their legs burning like wild fire, and panting heavily. "Aang, where are Jack and Carl and all the others?" asked Ann after leaning against a nearby tree, utterly exhausted. Katara turned to Aang, waiting for his answer. Aang stared at the ground for a few moments, wondering how much they needed to know about the horrors they had faced so far. Finally, he decided that it was best they knew all of it. He began to tell them what had happened after the encounter at the gate, how they had been chased by large predators that were meant to be extinct, how they had ventured through the swamp and faced its dangers, how they encountered Zuko, and how they escaped, how they followed the giant ape over the log, and how it had given out when Appa walked across, and how he had quickly spoke to Sokka, Jack, and Jimmy before setting off on his own to look for Ann and Katara. Aang finally finished, and looked between Ann and Katara, trying to read their expressions. Finally, Katara spoke "you guys went through all that? Just to get us back?" she asked. Aang could barely keep away his blush, he scratched the back of his neck nervously "well… I… we… yeah, yeah we did" he answered finally. Ann spoke before Katara could reply "so… Jack is still in that pit?" she asked anxiously ""don't worry, Sokka's with them, and as long as Sokka's with them, they should be just fine" replied Aang, hoping that there was either nothing in that pit, or that Sokka had really been practicing with his boomerang over the last few days before they came here. Before they could continue talking, a thunderous roar echoed through the trees. All three of them only needed one guess to know where it had come from. "We've lingered here too long" hissed Aang, and they began running at breakneck speed.

The young V-rex stood slowly, the pain in its jaw unbearable, the predator moaned painfully, its instincts were in a total muddle. Suddenly, a twig snapped. The juvenile looked up quickly, despite the pain. However, this wasn't the giant ape coming to finish him off, it was her. She lumbered into the clearing, two other juveniles trailing behind. She stood at over 70 feet long from her snout to her tail tip. The juvenile reclined his head, he had learned never to anger the huge female, and disrespect was not acceptable. His jaw was agape, the pain too much so that he couldn't bear to close his jaw. The female looked about, from experience; she knew the ape had been here, she returned her scarred gaze to the juvenile before her. She growled furiously, and before the juvenile could react, she lunged forward and clamped her jaws on the juvenile's throat. The juvenile screeched painfully, the huge predator applied more pressure onto the juvenile's neck, when finally; the neck bone cracked and the juvenile became limp in her jaws. She let the carcass fall to the ground. She briefly glanced at the two remaining juveniles, who were looking at her fearfully through slit pupils. She sniffed the air briefly, the ape was close.

All Aang could do was run with Katara and Ann ahead of him. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, he could tell by the way the trees were swaying that the ape was slowly gaining. Ahead, Ann and Katara skidded to a stop just as they were about to run over a ledge and fall into a chasm. Aang soon stood beside them, trying to calculate if he could carry them across with his glider. But before he could decide, a huge shape leapt out of the forest behind them, all three of them turned slowly to see Kong standing before them 15 feet away. The ape's face twisted into an ugly declaration of anger. "Head to the gate. I'll take care of Kong" whispered Aang, slowly assuming a fighting stance. Katara and Ann looked between him and Kong. "Aang-" began Katara, but Aang cut her off "just go! I'll meet up with you later". Both girls reluctantly ran into the forest, Kong made to go after them but Aang jumped into his path. Kong snarled furiously, Aang stood his ground, not daring to show the fear boiling in his gut, he wasn't about to give the ape the satisfaction. "Well, shall we get started then" Aang whispered determinedly. Kong lunged forward to swipe at Aang, Aang leapt into the air, dodging the attack; he counter attacked with a short blast of air. The blast hit Kong full on, but the ape didn't seem to be significantly effected by the attack. As soon as Aang landed back on his feet, he quickly began running around Kong, hoping to confuse him. But the ape was deceptively fast, and took a swipe at Aang, sending him flying through the air; Aang quickly took advantage however, and opened up his glider as he summoned an updraft of air to propel him above the trees. He turned back to face Kong who was looking up at him incredulously. Aang closed up his glider, just as a huge boulder hurtled over his head (thrown by Kong) Aang dove under the gorilla's hind legs, confusing Kong momentarily. Aang quickly re-opened his glider while still in mid air and he lifted into the sky once again. Kong had predicted this though, and threw another boulder at Aang. As he expected, the air bender tried to avoid the attack, Kong quickly took advantage and struck Aang out of the air. Aang barely formed an air shield before Kong's swipe sent him flying. His flight ended as he smashed against a tree trunk and fell to the ground. Kong stood on his hind legs and began beating his chest while roaring victoriously, thinking that the 'arrow head' was dead. Aang groaned and began to stand again, leaning on his staff for support. Kong stopped abruptly, noticing his enemy wanted more punishment. Aang stood once again, and assumed a fighting stance, his staff held out in front of him. "Bring it, beastie" challenged Aang, gritting his teeth. Kong's eyes glinted for a moment, as though impressed by Aang's boldness. The ape roared once again, and charged forward, Aang also began sprinting towards the great ape. Just as they were about to clash, Aang jumped, intending to somersault over Kong and deliver an attack from behind. He quickly realized he hadn't applied enough air bending, so he quickly pushed off against Kong with his bare hand in mid somersault. In that instant, something very strange happened, just as Aang made contact with Kong, an electric suddenly seemed to race up his arm and into his head, the same thing happened to Kong. After that split- second, Aang landed on his feet behind Kong. Before he could turn around to counter attack though, everything seemed to go blurry in Aang's vision, Kong groaned as the same thing happened to him. At the same time, they began massaging their forehead as they both simultaneously felt a piercing migraine. Then, their minds seemed to deny them their vision of the real world, and then the strangest thing of all happened; a flood of memories rushed into their minds, both Kong and Aang nearly fainted as more and more memories flowed in, as though they came from a lake that could never run out of water. And then suddenly, the flood ceased and both Aang and Kong were brought back to reality. Both had seemingly forgotten their foe and were trying to recover from what had just happened. Aang mentally surveyed that his limbs were all in the right place and turned his attention to what had happened, he suddenly felt as though a small part of his soul had been torn away. He realized, however, that it had been replaced by something else (besides the memories) like a part of another's soul, and he felt a heartbeat, aside from his own, and he realized that it was always beating as fast or as slow as his own. Then he remembered a few of the things he had seen in his vision; a large T-rex like creature charging at him, a group of huge apes eating together, another large ape being mauled by another T-rex like creature with many scars. The memories were nearly endless, some painful, some joyful, some had a sense of great loneliness. Kong meanwhile, had also spotted a few things in particular; a group of men in red armor stood to both sides, a group of humans draped in blue looking up at him sadly as though thinking they would never see him again, and there was one human in particular that Kong recognized from the memory, the younger of the two human females he had taken from the natives. Kong witnessed other memories, such as a sense of falling into the water, and then suddenly the feeling of helplessness was replaced with power, and a few seconds later, a feeling of cold from everywhere.

Both Kong and Aang finished trying to figure out what had happened, and they both suddenly remembered that there was an enemy to fight. Both turned to face each other "just because I get a bit dizzy for a while doesn't mean I'm giving up" declared Aang, gripping his glider tightly. Kong answered with a low rumble, and both of them lunged at each other once again.

Katara turned briefly as she heard a yell and a roar; no doubt Aang and Kong were still at each others' throats. "Katara? Come on! We have to keep moving, we have to find Jack and the others". Katara turned to see Ann a few feet away, panting heavily. Katara glanced back towards where Aang still fought Kong, perhaps dying. Already Katara could see a vivid picture in her mind of Aang's mangled corpse. But then she remembered that they had all faced challenges just as dangerous as this if not more. She nodded to Ann and they continued running. However, a few moments later, a rumble passed under their feet as though some huge creature was lumbering… towards them. Katara and Ann looked about themselves, and saw in the distance birds flying out of the trees as though escaping from a huge predator. "Oh god… god no" whispered Ann shaking her head in disbelief "not again" she finished silently. Katara muttered a quick prayer under her breath and shouted "RUN!" Both Ann and Katara set off at top speed away from the swaying trees.

The two foes, Kong and Aang, clashed again and again like titans in an epic battle. No matter how Aang planned his attacks, no matter how cleverly he launched them at the great ape, they would always be dodged by the huge monster. As for Kong, he couldn't land a single blow on Aang either. Again and again they lunged at each other, neither one hitting the other. Finally, Kong lunged one last time; if this plan wasn't going to work he would just go after the two female humans. Aang leapt into the air, grinning as Kong landed on the ground in a heap; however, Kong regained his footing with lightning speed and grabbed Aang out of the air. Aang yelped as he no longer felt his usual freedom of movement. Kong brought Aang up to his snarling face 'just try to dodge my bite, puny human!' thought Kong angrily. Aang suddenly had a sense that Kong was now to bite of his head. Aang squirmed helplessly, desperate to get away from the teeth, desperate to get away from the fangs, and now that Aang really thought about it he couldn't bear the stench either. Kong bared his fangs and snarled viciously, he enjoyed the look of terror on the human's face. A cold bead of sweat ran down Aang's forehead, in desperation, he took a deep breath and exhaled a strong blast of wind into Kong's face. The ape roared in annoyance, but his grip on Aang didn't loosen. The gust of air soon subsided and Kong looked at Aang once again, more furious than ever. Aang fought against the urge to gulp, and watched in horror as Kong bared his fangs again. Aang's guts were now doing somersaults, his heart was in his throat, and he knew he was going to die. Kong began to open his mouth, enjoying his enemy's squirming. 'I've failed' thought Aang just as Kong was about to bite off the top half of his body. However, luckily for Aang, a scream pierced the silence, Kong closed his jaws and scanned the surroundings, ignoring the small human in his fist momentarily. Aang's eyes opened as he suddenly realized that his head wasn't missing. A few moments passed, Kong began opening his jaw once again when another scream pierced the silence. With growing horror, Aang recognized the scream, and then he went pale when three roars followed. Kong looked back at the human in his hands furiously. The ape roared and threw Aang into a tree trunk before setting off in the direction of the previous scream. Aang had fortuneately created a veil of air around himself, which obsorbed most of the impact. He landed on his feet, watching Kong dissapear into the trees after Ann and Katara. Aang gripped his glider ever more tightly, and quickly opening it up; rose into the air and followed Kong from above.

End of Chapter 10

The V-rex is far more evolved descendant of T-rex, native to Skull isle.

PHEW!

Sorry this took so long

WHY AREN'T YOU PEOPLE REVIEWING!


	11. Chapter 11

I'm sorry this chapter took so long, guys.

Hopefully, though, its quality will make up for the time it took to write it.

So here it is: Chapter 11.

Enjoy.

Chapter 11:

V-rex.

Katara dared not turn, she had to run, her adrenaline was pumping, her brow was sweating, and her muscles were burning like forest fire. Just two minutes ago, she and Ann had come face to face with three more of the huge predators they had seen before. Behind her the trees were swaying and toppling over as the huge T-rex like monsters ran after them. Ann meanwhile, was hoping that this godforsaken island would just kill her and be done with her, or, she hoped that she was still in some strange, horrific nightmare that would end if she could only keep running. Katara thought to herself as she ran that she would curse whoever brought them to this island, whether it be by the hand of spirit, fate, even the gods themselves. She quickly came back to reality as she nearly tripped over a tree root. She regained her balance however and continued running. "This will certainly be a story to tell my grand children one day" Katara thought aloud. "JUST KEEP RUNNING FOR GOD SAKES!" shouted Ann in reply.

"So what do we do now?" asked one of the fire benders tiredly. Zuko rolled his eyes in annoyance "Well, those who failed to guard the prisoners are going to be based over a spit once we get back to the ship, but now, let's just find out which direction the Avatar went" replied Zuko. A few men gulped silently behind their helmets. Zuko turned to lieutenant Jee, who was trying to hide the fact that he was terrified. "Which way did they go?" asked Zuko through clenched teeth. Jee knew he was probably going to get fired (literally) anyway "by the time we had recovered from their surprise attack, there was only one who remained, the others were nowhere in sight, and now, that man is dead" said Jee, gesturing towards Hayes's still form beneath a white sheet of cloth. Zuko shook his head **slowly **and massaged his forehead Iroh suddenly spoke "perhaps they are going in the same direction as before, heading North West towards that mountain" Iroh said, pointing towards a tall mountain, jutting out of the forest like an over grown tooth. Zuko turned to his uncle briefly, then shook his head slowly "no, they are searching for those two girls, the ones that were captured by the ape, they'd be searching for it, hoping to find them. That's what we should be doing" finished Zuko. His men looked at him in confusion "are you saying you want to find the ape? It's a fool's errand!" as soon as the words slipped from Jee's tongue, he regretted them immediately. Zuko turned to the lieutenant silently "are you calling me a fool?" asked Zuko, his eyes narrowing "of course not, sir" replied Jee quickly. Zuko turned away from Jee and faced the rest of the crew "alright! Five of you will come with me to try and find the location of the ape, another five of you will find the Avatar and his friends. Uncle, lieutenant, you stay here with the rest of the crew and defend the camp, now lets move!" and with that, the two groups set off into the jungle. His plan was simple; the ape had a friend of the Avatar, if they could lure the ape into giving up the peasant, then they would have bait to draw in the Avatar.

Kong took another sniff, yes; the scarred one was definitely near. The ape stood back on his hind legs, trying to see where the two humans had gone. But a constant buzzing at the back of his mind kept drawing him away from reality. He suddenly remembered that it had been like thousands of bees flying around inside his head when he had fought arrow head, and, gradually, the sense was getting stronger. If he were able to, Kong would have smiled at his cleverness as he realized that arrow head was following him, and that he could somehow sense his presence. The sensation burned in his mind (though not painfully) and he turned to see a very surprised Aang, whom hadn't expected to be noticed. The boy took a few steps back, but then held his ground. Kong was about to lunge forward, but stopped as a memory came to mind, a memory that he had seen during his battle with the boy. It wasn't a visual memory, however. But an emotion, towards someone and an image of Katara entered the ape's mind. As for Aang, he still stood there, waiting for the creature to attack. But the ape remained silent and still, as though remembering a lost memory. Kong recognized this emotion, and a name from his past sprang into his mind "Blue" he thought sadly. He looked at the boy with newly discovered understanding. Aang looked at Kong in confusion, but slowly realized that the ape would not attack. Kong was lost in thought for a moment. He finally looked back at Aang as though trying to pierce his soul. A scowl spread over Kong's face, and he began to hear words forming in his head as though listening to a strange tongue that only he could understand, and then only just.

"_Look here, **Arrow head,** you don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you! But the predators are going to kill them, and the only way I can drive them away is with your help, just don't expect me to watch your back"_ as the word 'them' was heard in Aang's head, a picture of Ann and Katara also entered his mind, strangely, the pictures were in black and white _"follow me!"_ finished the voice and Kong set off into the forest. Aang hesitated a moment before running after the ape. There was just one thing bugging Aang; "who's he calling **'Arrow head'?**"

Ann glanced over her shoulder; the predators were gaining speed as quickly as the forest was turning into grassland. Katara suddenly skidded to a stop, and held up an arm to stop Ann. Ahead of them, the a grassland spread all the way to a tall mountain in the distance, a river ran out of the forest into the plains and Katara could barely hear the hum of insects. But the thing that caught her attention the most were the creatures grazing there, huge, scaled creatures that glanced at them briefly, unaware of the horrors that were chasing the two girls. Ann suddenly pointed "over there" she whispered. Katara followed the direction of the finger, tall stone structures jutted out of the ground, perhaps a lost remnant of an ancient culture still clinging to existence, just like the dinosaurs around them. A roar suddenly brought them to reality, and the dinosaurs around them were suddenly stiff and alert. Katara and Ann glanced at each other, and then began running towards the ruins. But not before Katara was able to bend a long snake of water from the nearby river into her canteen. The herbivores glanced at them as they passed, some were bellowing warning calls to the rest of their herds, and a group of huge triceratops like creatures were forming a circle around their young, a shield wall of horns and bone. But Katara and Ann only quickened their pace when the predators burst from the trees, and as they came the trees were knocked aside, as though a raging flood were tossing away the boulders in its path, and following casually behind was the huge female. With her good eye she could see the two humans running towards the ruins, she began sprinting after them, and her two underlings followed briskly.

They dove into the ruins, just as the predator's jaws were about to snatch them up. Through the crevice they had come through, they could see the female's two companions sprint up to her. The female gave a low growl and faced the obstacle with her side, she then began pounding furiously. "We're trapped!" Katara whispered. Ann looked about her; they were in what may have once been some type of outpost or base. The ceiling above them was thirty feet up, which was unfortunately enough space for one of the predators to fit in, and then her eyes rested on a waterfall. "Come on" she whispered, making her way to the waterfall, Katara stood and followed, the pounding had now created a huge crack in the barrier that separated the two girls from the predators. Both girls stood in front of the falling water, which had made a river along the floor of the ruin. Ann followed the direction of it, and the river seemed to go under the left wall, she peered into the water and noted its depth, she also noted a small mammal like creature diving in and swimming to where the water disappeared under the wall. "Katara, you think this keeps going?" asked Ann. Katara glanced back at the wall which blocked the predator's path, cracks criss-crossed the entire surface, they didn't have much time. She looked at the river "yeah, I think it continues" she replied. "Alright, jump in" said Ann. "What?" the wall was now a quarter broken, light streamed in. "GO!" yelled Ann. Without another word, Katara took a deep breath and jumped into the under ground river. She began following the tunnel. 'Please let there be a way out' she thought.

Ann looked around frantically, she only had a few seconds, if she dived into the water, the creatures would get her before she could disappear, and there was nowhere to hide. Then, she looked at the waterfall. She didn't have time to think, she slipped in behind the waterfall just as the wall crumbled completely. She held her breath, not daring to make a sound. She could hear the plodding of heavy footfalls; she could see the outline of one of the predators through the water fall. She could hear sniffing, they were searching for her, hunting her. 'Find a way out quick, Katara' she thought.

Gradually, the underground water way was getting darker and darker, and Katara couldn't help but feel nervous. Using her water bending to jet through the water made her feel comfortable that she could out swim a predator, if there was anything in this water way. She would have to find an exit quick, for her air was quickly running out.

Then, she thought she could see a way out, or at least some air. Suddenly, a long, snakelike shape swam past her with lightning speed. She had opened her mouth as if to scream, but instead of sound coming from her lips, precious oxygen escaped. She looked about her frantically, then began towards what she hoped was an exit in quick boosts. She glanced over her shoulder, the creature was coming at her again, its skin had barely any colour and its teeth were gnarled and jagged. Katara faced the creature and gathered up all the water she could muster into a concentrated ball of liquid, the creature was getting closer. In a flash, she sent the ball hurtling through the water; the force of the hit smacking the creature dead in its face, the creature turned and swam out of sight. Katara continued swimming again, after a few more boosts she found herself gasping for breath in an air pocket, she looked around her, the pocket was around five feet wide, but it was definitely not a means of escape. Katara swore furiously before taking a deep breath and diving back into the water.

Ann breathed quietly, and then only in small gasps. The creatures continued their sniffing, which was beginning to sound like a strange clock ticking towards her demise. She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth, trying to stifle her sobbing. She re-opened her eyes. She could see the silhouette of one of the creatures plodding towards the water fall. Her heart beat quickened as the tip of the creature's snout emerged from the other side. Ann held her breath, at any moment the rest of the creature's head could emerge and the predator would see her. She could see the nostrils twitching, trying to locate her smell. Ann swore mentally as the predator's jaws opened, letting out a low growl and a foul smell. Ann nearly winced but didn't dare to move. Finally, the snout retreated, and Ann let out a quiet sigh, and suddenly noticed she was sweating.

Katara looked behind her now and then, expecting the eel or some other aberration to come and bite off her leg. Indeed, she could see the eel in the dim light, but it was cautious and watched her from a safe distance. Katara faced ahead once again but stopped abruptly as she saw that the waterway had been blocked by a pile of boulders. Katara began gathering as much water as she could into a compact ball, and sent it flying at the pile of boulders. But aside from a few pebbles falling from the top, the blast hadn't had much effect. If she could, Katara would have sworn like a drunkard. She turned around and began heading back to the ruins.

"Do you even know where you're going!" asked Aang as he struggled to keep up with the huge ape. Kong glanced over his furry shoulder and growled at the air nomad, Aang groaned and replied "oh, RARR yourself!" The forest was gradually opening up to a great hill over looking grassland stretching all the way to a mountain in the distance. Kong skidded to a stop at the top of the hill, and motioned for Aang to come. Aang ran up to Kong's side and saw the predators tearing apart something that resembled a ruined outpost.

"_They're down there"_

Aang heard the voice in his head, and once again saw the images of Ann and Katara. Aang looked up at Kong. "They've got names, you know, they're called Ann and Katara" said the air bender harshly. Kong didn't look at him, but growled angrily, his huge knuckles turning white.

"_Names do not matter, it only matters that you care about the one who owns the name"_

Aang pondered this for a moment, and then answered "so, how do get them out of there?" Kong looked about slowly, and then began down the right side of the hill.

"_This way"_

Aang followed without hesitation.

Katara slowly lifted her head out of the water, careful to keep as little of herself above the water as possible. The monsters were now tearing the ruins apart, and Ann was nowhere in sight. For a moment, Katara thought that the T- Rex like creatures had already eaten her, and as she thought this she tasted the threat of bile in her throat. She looked around frantically, trying to spot either a better place to hide, or a way out when she thought she saw a sliver of a pink dress behind the waterfall. She blinked in surprise, and would have chuckled if not for the predators in the ruin, which thankfully hadn't noticed her. Katara lifted her hand above the water, a small ball of liquid following her open palm, with a swift flick of her wrist, the water went flying back towards the opening of the ruin, where it collided with the wall with a loud _Splash!_ Katara ducked her head under the water again as the predators turned towards the direction of the sound, and stomped to the entrance to investigate. Katara jumped out of the water and ran to the waterfall. As she passed under the falling water, a yelp of surprise escaped from Ann's lips as Katara entered. Both girls stood rigid behind the water fall, realizing that the dinosaurs must have heard. Both of them could hear faint growling on the other side, and a snout came through the falling water, the nostrils sniffing furiously. "Shit" whispered Ann, her eyes wide and her brow sweating, the same could be said about Katara, whose heart was racing like a cheetah. They both took breath in short gasps, not daring to make any noise. The snout jerked suddenly, as though it had realized something, and the jaws gaped, revealing teeth twice the size of a banana. Katara whimpered, and the only thing keeping Ann from fainting was the cool temperature the waterfall gave off. Then, from deep within the throat of the predator, a huge roar echoed in the small space behind the waterfall. Katara and Ann brought their hands up to their ears quickly, trying to block out the horrid sound. The jaws finally closed and retreated for a moment, before lunging through the waterfall in an attempt to snatch Katara. Ann pulled her to the side just as the clamped shut on the empty space. A slit pupil stared at them a moment before Katara shouted "RUN!"

Aang stood along the tree line where the forest turned to grassland, behind him, Kong stood, staring intently at the one V-rex whom hadn't entered the ruins. "What if they're already dead? Ann and Katara I mean" asked Aang silently.

"_They're still alive, I can smell them"_

Aang turned to face Kong "and how do I know I can trust you?" asked Aang angrily.

"_And why wouldn't you trust me?" _asked the voice.

"Umm, let me think, oh! Right! Because you kidnapped Ann and Katara! Just for the fun of it I suppose! Then again, what else could I expect from a monster such as yourself!" replied Aang sarcastically. Kong stared down at Aang, a look of terrible and destructive fury in his face, and Aang could've sworn he saw tears forming in the ape's eyes. Kong brought his head up close to Aang.

"_Tell me, have you ever been alone? When no one is there to help you, to guide you, to care for you, to fight along side you…to love you? Well, I'll tell you what its like, the world begins closing in around you, forcing you into the tiniest corner, and once you're in that corner, the pressure keeps coming, trying to break your ribs and squash your lungs, and the only way to survive is to push against it, alone, with nothing but sheer willpower, and then there are days when you wish you would give up and let the pressure squeeze you till you're dead, so that you may join those that have already fallen into the black oblivion that is death. But just when the pressure is going to burst your lungs, it lets up, and you beg long through the night for it to return and crush you, so that you may feel misery no more. So tell me, Arrow head, tell me, have you ever felt that way?"_ asked Kong, his face now in a sad frown, his eyes still blazing with fury.

Aang had understood the Kong's words, or rather, felt the emotions Kong had described, for there was now a heavy pressure in his chest, and the young air bender almost found it hard to breathe. Then, in an instant, it was gone and Aang took a great gulp of air. Once again, Kong's voice entered Aang's mind

"_That was but a taste of what I endured for seventeen long, lonely years"_ said Kong grimly. Kong pulled his head away, now towering over Aang. Aang looked down at his feet in shame "Kong… I… I'm so-" began Aang. But Kong growled at him loudly and motioned behind Aang. The boy turned to see that Ann and Katara had escaped from the ruins. But were now surrounded by the three predators.

"_I'll distract the predators, you get those two to safety!"_ said Kong before lunging out of the forest towards the V-rex. Aang hesitated a moment before sprinting after the ape.

End of Chapter 11

The fight's in the next chapter.

And I'll get to Sokka and co' soon.

By the way, just so you know, this story takes place in-between episode 17 and episode 18 of book one (water).


	12. Chapter 12

Curse ps2 games, CURSE YOU KINGDOM HEARTS!!!

(Oh, by the way, any tips for starting a new paragraph?)

Chapter 12:

Of sinister beasts and dark chasms.

Sokka gradually slid down the vine, making sure not to slide too fast, for Jack, Jimmy and Preston were directly below him, climbing down the same vine. They occasionally stopped for a moment, thinking that there had been a shadow darting across the chasm walls. But as soon as it was seen (or imagined) it was out of sight. Sokka looked upwards, hoping that the vines would be able to hold Appa for a while. Momo had stayed as well, and Sokka silently prayed that the lemur wasn't stealing food from the group's bag. Aang would kill Sokka if he found only little tufts of the lemur's fur, the remains of Momo that Sokka would undoubtedly leave behind if Momo was indeed helping himself to what lay in the bag. Sokka looked around at the chasm walls, the walls were getting moist as the group climbed ever deeper and black rocks protruded from the walls like gnarled and jagged teeth. It wasn't hard for Sokka to imagine them all climbing down into the jaws of a huge monster, the only thing troubling Sokka was what they were going to find in the stomach. Sokka gripped the handle of his father's boomerang momentarily.

"_Come on, Sokka. Gotta face this like a warrior"_ thought Sokka; quickly brushing away a few drops of sweat that had appeared on his forehead. Sokka peered over his shoulder to look deep into the blackness of the chasm. "Whoa…" he whispered. Sokka glanced at Jack, who was first going down the vine. "How far down do you think they fell? Co's if it's far, I doubt we'll find much more than corpses" said Sokka, nearly losing his grip on the vine and plunging to his death. Before Jack could respond, they all heard a whimpering sound, and they craned their necks to see that Jimmy was leaning his forehead against the vine, and crying as silently as possible. "Jimmy?" asked Jack, before shooting an angry glare at Sokka. "What did I do?" asked Sokka defensively. Jack returned his gaze to Jimmy "hey, don't worry, they'll be fine…Trust me" said Jack comfortingly to the boy. Jimmy began shaking his head slowly. "First Mr. Hayes, then Mr. Denham and Lumpy and Choy…" Jimmy choked on his tears for a few moments before continuing. "Don't you get it? We're next! That's why that Aang kid left, I bet he knew what was coming and is heading back to the ship as we speak!" cried Jimmy. At this moment, Sokka burst into the conversation again, this time, filled with a terrible rage. "You take that back! You snivelling, good for nothing worm!" at this, Jimmy suddenly began trying to climb over Preston up towards Sokka, his fists shaking violently. However, Jack quickly grabbed the teen's boot and held him down. "Look! Guys, let's all just calm down!" yelled Jack, glaring between Sokka and Jimmy. "Let's wait till we get out of this pit, then we'll figure out what to do next" said Jack softly. Jimmy and Sokka glared at each other and finally nodded reluctantly to each other, and they continued down into the chasm.

Katara looked about her. They were surrounded, with no way of escape. One of the creatures was drooling, and the three monsters growled hungrily. Just behind her, Ann was shivering. "I guess this is it, huh?" she managed to say. Katara nodded silently, and gulped. Suddenly, just as one of the creatures were about to lunge forward, a huge, dark shape slammed into the predator, knocking it to the ground. The shape stood on its hind legs, and Katara realised it was Kong. The ape roared and pounded its chest. The predator that had been struck to the ground was slowly working its way to its feet. One of the others was slowly backing off to a safe distance. But the last one, the largest of the three, stood its ground. The two titans glared at each other, and Katara thought she saw a furious recognition glint in Kong's eyes. Suddenly, Aang skidded to a stop by Katara's side, and the girl could hardly keep from yelping in surprise "Aang! You're still-" began Katara, but the boy cut her off "no time for chat!" Aang shouted. Kong craned his head, glaring at Aang, and the boy returned the gaze, and Katara only watched in confusion, for to her, it seemed as though Aang were listening to mute words that only he could hear. After a few moments Aang nodded at Kong before the ape turned to face the predators again "we've gotta go" said Aang "what about Kong?!" exclaimed Ann "he'll hold them off! But _we_ need to go!" replied Aang, and the three began sprinting back into the forest, occasionally turning to see Kong fighting back two of the smaller predators, the larger one circling around the other three monsters, watching patiently. As Aang disappeared through the trees with Ann and Katara, he suddenly felt a strange guilt in his stomach at leaving Kong behind. He only hesitated a moment though, and then continued leading Ann and Katara away from the forest's edge, the guilt steadily growing in strength as they gained more distance between themselves and Kong.

Kong roared and dodged another blow, then, turning around, smashed his fist into the other V-rex's jaw, sending it head over heels, finally landing in a heap on its back. Turning again, Kong grabbed both parts of the other predator's jaw just as it was about to snap onto the ape's neck. The V-rex writhed and twisted, trying to free itself from Kong's grasp. Then, with a sudden burst of strength, the V-rex surged forward, knocking Kong onto his back. The creature towered over Kong's seemingly prone form and made to bite at Kong's neck again. Kong grabbed the jaws, stopping the predator in mid bite, and kicked the creature with both hind legs. The V-rex took a step back, leaving him winded, but with no significant injury. However, this gave Kong enough time to get back to his feet. He turned, seeing the other juvenile charging towards him at full speed. Kong could've smiled at how feeble minded these creatures were "what's the point if you can't even perform complicated communication? Or figure out what's going to get you either killed or seriously injured? Hmph, mother nature and her experiments, bah!" thought Kong, before roaring and charging forward as well. Just as the two were about to collide, Kong ducked out of the way and grabbed the V-rex's foot as it passed, the creature was sent flying, before landing on its belly. Kong roared victoriously at his handy work and glanced up to see the scarred one watching patiently, as though she were an old woman watching a documentary on rabbits. A sudden, tearing pain screamed in Kong's right shoulder, the ape howled and saw that the other V-rex had taken an opportunity and had bitten into his shoulder with bone piercing efficiency. The bite certainly hadn't broken any bones, but the ape wanted the banana-sized fangs out, and began struggling with the V-rex.

Katara skidded to a stop, realising that Aang was no longer alongside her. Ann, noticing too, also slowed to a stop. Katara turned about frantically, then, spotted Aang on the ground a few feet behind, and she suddenly realised that he was writhing. She rushed over to him, and saw that he clutching his right shoulder, and she thought she could hear him grinding his teeth in pain "Aang, what's wrong?" she asked, kneeling. He suddenly let out a shout of pain and clutched his shoulder tighter. "I feel like my shoulder's being torn apart" he managed to get out through tightly clenched teeth. Ann came and knelt beside Katara, looking at Aang's shoulder "Aang, is it bleeding?" she asked softly "I don't know" he said through clenched teeth just before shouting as though being hit by another wave of pain. Ann bit her lip, trying to remember what little she learned of first aid in her short school life, she turned back to Aang "listen, I need to see if there's a wound, do you think you could take your hand away?" Aang slowly obeyed, if he was bleeding, it hadn't been soaked up by the cloth. Ann silently checked for any broken bones, and her brow furrowed when she realised there weren't any. "Aang, I need you to…" but Ann was cut short when Aang suddenly seemed to relax, as though the pain had disappeared. He sat up, massaging his shoulder. "Aang, what about the pain?" asked Katara "it's gone" replied Aang, grabbing his glider and standing. The boy stared in the direction they had come, as though deep in thought. "I need to go back and help Kong" he finally said. Katara stared at him in surprise "but I thought you hated him" she said finally. Aang turned to her "more than you know" he replied. "But… it's a little hard to explain… there's just a feeling in the pit of my gut" he said, turning away as though to think for a moment. "You guys keep going, we'll catch up later" Aang said after a moment, then, plunging his hand into his pocket, grabbed Katara's necklace and pulled it out "here, I think you dropped this" said Aang, handing the necklace to Katara. Katara stood with her mouth agape a few moments, and then finally spoke "Deja vu" she whispered, clasping the necklace around her neck, she nodded in thanks. Aang smiled fleetingly, and then began back in the direction they had come "WAIT!" shouted Ann too late, for Aang had already disappeared through the thick forest. Ann sighed heavily "once again, alone in a jungle, filled with monsters and he just leaves us here, great!" said Ann in annoyance. Ann turned to Katara "so, what now?" asked the vaudeville actress, crossing her arms. Katara thought for a moment, before a smile spread across her face "we follow" she said simply before taking off after Aang. Ann stood alone for a few moments, massaging her forehead before finally saying "I knew you were going to say that" and began following Katara.

"Well…?" asked Sokka from the vine. "Yep, we're here" replied Jack in the gloom. Sokka looked about the bowel of Chasm, of course, there wasn't much to see, he could barely see five feet in front him. They slowly made their way to the ground, when Sokka made it down he let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he was no longer in danger of falling off a vine. "Carl! Lumpy! Choy! Are you there?" shouted Preston into the gloom. "You fool! You wanna wake up every damn monster on the island?! Be quiet, or we'll-" began Sokka when a low, whimpering moan echoed in the blackness. "Lumpy?" whispered Sokka, before dashing off into the blackness "Sokka! Don't go too far!" Jack shouted after him. But Jack's words fell on deaf ears, and Sokka continued through the gloom, his eyes gradually accustoming to the darkness and he finally spotted Lumpy, seemingly hunched over something, the man shook slightly, as though weeping. As Sokka approached, he realized that a body lay in front of Lumpy, Choy's body, and Sokka thought he could see the cook clutching his friend's limp hand. Sokka approached with heavy steps until he stood behind Lumpy. "I grabbed his hand… but he slipped out of my grip" said Lumpy, beginning to weep again "the bastard's hand was bloody sweaty!" Lumpy shouted into the gloom. Sokka stood next to the hunched form and knelt down next to Lumpy, putting a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "You did what you could, it's not your fault… the same thing happened to me…" said Sokka, Lumpy turned to face Sokka, his face wet with recent tears. For a long while they sat in silence, until Jack and the others caught up with them, Carl was with them now though, and he had a look of complete bewilderment. Finally, Carl broke the silence "where's my camera?" he asked. At this, Sokka leapt to his feet and shouted in anger "what is it with you and your stupid camera! Can't you see someone has died?" But Carl wasn't paying any attention, he was looking past Sokka, his eyes wide with fear, the others beside him had the same expression. Sokka turned slowly, and stared in horror. There, just twelve meters away was what seemed like a cross between a spider and a crab, except it had been magnified to a horrifying size. The creature took slow, long steps towards them on great, shelled legs, with each step, the ground beneath them wielded to the creature's weight with a small _thud_. Everyone turned suddenly as scuttling came from behind and from above; other creatures of different shapes and sizes were crawling towards them. That's when Sokka no longer saw this place as some huge stomach; he now knew that this was hell.

Again and again he deflected bites, lunges and slams. But even as he deflected the V-rex, the V-rex always seemed to be too fast for Kong's swipes and lunges, always his blows were barely glancing hits. He leapt to the side of one of the V-rexes and charged head-first, only to be tackled by the other. The creature regained it's footing, and began trying to bite at Kong's head. The ape blocked with his huge arms, trying to grab the creature's head. Then the other V-rex joined in the biting. Kong growled in frustration, now having to block two heads. Out of the corner of his eye, Kong could see the scarred one approaching with heavy footfalls that vibrated through the ground. Gradually she came nearer, her fangs bared, if anyone was going to kill Kong on this island, it would be her. Kong desperately tried to fend off the other two V-rexes. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't force them back, no matter how hard he tried, he would die this day

How could he have been so stupid! He had just left them in the middle of a jungle filled with prehistoric animals! "STUPID!" Aang shouted aloud as he whizzed through the forest, leaving barely a sign in his wake. What had made him act so hastily? He should've thought things out more carefully, he was a monk! Was it not in an air nomad's nature to be patient and think things through? But now he had to forget the past and look to the future. Ann and Katara were safe for the time being, but Kong… it was something Aang couldn't explain, and he hadn't given it much thought, he had been rushing about the place and he suddenly realized that he was exhausted, and his mind was in a haze. All this… weirdness had begun when he had tried to somersault over Kong, what had happened there? Aang skidded to a stop for a moment, trying to regain his sense of direction. After a few moments he sped off again. Why did he think Kong was going to die? And why did he even care? As far as he was concerned, Kong was just an enemy, one that had earned a grudging respect from the Avatar. 'Too many questions, too little answers' he thought to himself. All he knew was that Kong was going to die unless he helped, that he had to get himself and his friends back home. His friends, his friends were his main priority right now. Then what the hell was he doing? Wasting time helping an over sized ape? It all had something to do with what had happened when he and Kong fought each other. It was times like this where he really needed Roku's help. Perhaps when he and his friends got home. But now, now he had a giant ape to save.

End of Chapter 12

Wow.

This is the first cliff hanger chapter I've done in this story.


	13. Chapter 13

I'm suffering from writer's block… and Kingdom hearts is constantly taunting me.

Curse you, secret ending!

Chapter 13:

Of chasms and the big apple.

"Which way did he go?" asked Ann for the fifth time. Katara scanned their surroundings for any sign of Aang's passage. Katara scratched her forehead momentarily. From behind her she could hear Ann's exasperated sigh "what the hell did I ever do to deserve this?" the rhetorical question echoed through the silent forest, save for bird calls. Katara stood up straight; shaking her head, there was no sign of Aang. Why did he have to run so fast? What had he said? That he needed to help Kong. But how would he know that Kong was in trouble? She thought back to when Aang had collapsed in pain, but with no injury. What had happened then? What was going on now? How was Sokka doing? How was Aang and Kong doing? So many questions were so fast through her head she had barely any time to comprehend them, and then she wondered why she was worried about Kong, over the course of time she and Ann had been with him, she had sensed a strange sadness in the ape. She had also sensed a great deal of loneliness and anger that she had pitied so much. The creature had so much emotion, it almost like he was… human.

Her thoughts were disturbed when she realised that Ann had been chattering to her for the last five minutes "- you see, I don't want to mess it up with him… oh god! The world's gone mad! A secret island, natives, big apes, crocodiles, giant bugs- oh god! The bugs! - And dinosaurs! Bloody, ferocious, giant- why is everything on this island big?-, blood-thirsty, scaled mongrels! ..." Ann paused, catching her breath. Katara stared at her, dumbstruck in surprise. Ann didn't seem to notice though and continued "so, is there someone that you have a fancy for?" For a few moments, the question confused the water bender; finally she replied "p…pardon?" she said slowly. Ann waved her hand through the air as though brushing away the subject "never mind" she answered quickly, creating knots in her hair with her finger. Katara turned away for a moment, before realising she knew nearly nothing about Ann. She turned around again, trying to think of a decent question. Finally she asked "so… where do you come from?"

Aang leapt and bounded over the un-even terrain, his brain was buzzing with Kong's presence, and the feeling of urgency had become nearly un-bearable. And what he still couldn't get out of his head was the fact that he had left Katara and Ann back in the clearing. Then again, if there was any girl who was capable of defending herself from monsters, it would be Katara. But, then again, not many monsters were over 20 feet tall. His thoughts suddenly disappeared as he found himself in the plain where he and the others had left Kong before. He quickly spotted him, near the ruins. Two of the V-rex were towering over him, trying to bite at the ape's chest. the last and largest V-rex stood on Kong's opposite side, looking down at him as though enjoying some terror she was causing. Aang didn't waste another second, he rushed forward, building up the amount of power necessary to knock the largest V-rex backwards. The creature looked up just as Aang released the full strength of a hurricane in one, single blast of air, sending the monster sprawling. The other two reacted, turning to face the boy who was a mere ant compared to the dinosaurs. Aang prepared himself to take on the other two when they suddenly lurched backwards. Kong had risen to his feet and had grabbed the predators' tails. With another great heave, Kong flung the two V-rex to either side of him, sending them sprawling. The huge ape turned to face Aang, and the now familiar voice entered the boy's mind.

_Where are they? Are they safe?_

Asked Kong, as an image of Ann and Katara entering Aang's mind.

"They're fine, for now, but we should go pick them up, so let's get the heck out of here!" the Avatar replied hastily. At this, waves of anger pulsated from Kong, and the voice spoke in his mind, this time, brimming with rage

_You… left them… in the jungle?!_

Aang winced, and, looking past Kong, saw that one of the V-rexes was beginning to stand again "uh…Kong? One of the…" began Aang, when Kong suddenly stood on his hind legs and let out an ear-shattering roar, the ape then continued to pick up a heavy boulder, and, spinning around, heaved the projectile at the V-rex. The boulder hit its mark, and the V-rex toppled over again, unconscious. Without warning, Kong then continued to grab Aang and began running into the jungle.

_Where?_

For a moment, the question confused Aang, then realizing, he sent an image of the area where he had left Ann and Katara. With that, the air bender allowed him to be jostled about like a rag doll; the only trouble the whole time was keeping his stomach still.

Momo had had a very exciting time on this island, strange humans with red, bloodshot eyes, big fish, falling into a crevice, and bugs, well the bugs here were perhaps the tastiest things that had he had ever bitten into. There were many of them on the crevice walls were he sat on Appa's back. Momo spotted another one, this insect had a resemblance to a large centipede, it had a heavy, brown exoskeleton, and large mandibles that Momo knew to avoid. As the centipede scuttled closer down the crevice wall, a plan began forming in Momo's mind. The huge centipede suddenly halted, now sensing Momo's presence. Without warning, the centipede jumped from the wall to strike at Momo. The lemur dove to the side as the centipede landed in a heap on Appa's saddle. Appa groaned in annoyance at not being able to see the battle occurring on his back. Momo deftly leapt onto the monster's back and began feverishly scratching and biting, however, the centipede's thick exoskeleton was too strong. The creature writhed underneath Momo, who was now struggling with all his might to hang onto the smooth exoskeleton. The centipede snarled, and its powerful mandibles chomped on thin air. Without warning, it began climbing back up the crevice walls. Appa groaned from his prone position in the vines, begging for Momo to come back and give up the fight. But Appa's begging fell on deaf ears, this was the greatest challenge that Momo had ever faced, and he wasn't about to give in to a giant centipede.

Higher and higher they climbed up the wall. Until at last, they emerged into the sunlight, and still, Momo clung to the centipede's carapace, and still, the centipede writhed with all its might, trying to throw the lemur off. So they continued deeper into the jungle, Momo, clinging for dear life, and the centipede, writhing and scuttling.

"New York?" asked Katara, her eyebrow raised quizzically. Ann gave her an incredulous look, as though whoever she were looking at were crazy. "You've… never heard of New York?" asked the Vaudeville actress in disbelief. Who had never heard of New York? Katara shook her head. Evidently, there are some who don't, thought Ann. "Well…Does…New York have another name?" asked the water bender. Ann thought for a moment before replying. "The big apple" she said. Katara looked about her, as though trying to spot something "where?" she asked. Ann's brows furrowed "huh?" she replied. Katara gave a sigh of exasperation and continued "the big apple, where is it?" Ann stood with her mouth agape, thinking that her companion had finally lost it. Katara stared at Ann in amazement, this woman was at least twice as old as she was and she didn't know the story of the big apple, the apple that would give a mortal all knowing wisdom with one bite. But she must've known… she mentioned it, didn't she?

"_The_ apple._ The _big apple! You mentioned it just a moment ago! Where is it?" continued Katara in exasperation. Ann stood there, her gaping mouth twitching now and then. Finally she replied "wait… are you talking about New York, or something else? Co's I haven't got a clue what you're talking about" Katara, finally realising, replied "Ohhh… so _Big Apple_ is New York… I see… nope, never heard of it"

Before the two girls could continue however, Kong burst into sight from the other side of the clearing, looking about frantically. Then, spotting Ann and Katara, hastily lumbered over, carrying something in his huge, furry fist. Then, loosening his fingers, a figure fell out, landing on his feet.

"Aang!" shouted Katara before rushing over to Aang, before she could hug him, however, the air bender held a finger to wait, and Katara finally realised that Aang was looking rather green. The air bender ran behind the cover of a tree, and, moments later, a faint retching reached her ears. Aang re-emerged from the under growth, wiping his mouth. "How do you two stand being waved around like that?" he asked Katara. Above them, Kong growled as though impatient, and was looking this way and that frantically. Aang sighed before turning to look up at Kong "look, we can leave soon, I'm just talking to my friend, and surely they're not _that _quick" he said to the gorilla. Ann walked over to stand by Katara's side, glancing between Aang and Kong. The ape growled again in angry annoyance, staring at Aang with his small, orange eyes. "_Yes_ I understand that" said Aang in annoyance, as though replying to some statement. Kong pounded both fists into the ground, and shook his head, growling all the while. Aang looked at the ground, as though defeated and said "alright, fine, let's go" Kong gave a brief nod to the air bender and gently picked up Ann and Katara in one scoop. Aang opened up his glider, summoning a gust of wind as Kong continued into the jungle, carrying Ann and Katara, both of whom had one question on their minds. "What was all of that about?"

They were every where. An endless sea of huge insects, thousands of pairs of exoskeleton steps echoed in the chasm like a great clock ticking towards their demise. Sokka gulped, never, in his whole life had Fear gotten such a firm grasp upon his mind. It was truly horrid, half of him wanted to run screaming, but the other half was telling him he had friends to protect, and at any second he expected himself to suddenly split in two, one part running, and the other, being devoured by the monstrosities lumbering towards them. The others beside were either in awe, fear, or both. For they had been struck dumb and stood rigid. A sudden cry from behind brought them back to reality. Sokka whirled around to see Lumpy hacking and slashing at what appeared to be giant worms with huge, toothy maws. Without another second's warning, a pack of huge wetas leapt onto the group. Sokka desperately struggled against the one on top of him, which was trying to make a grab for his throat with its large mandibles. Sokka held it back with one arm, grunting with the strain of holding back the surprisingly powerful insect. Swiftly, he drew his boomerang, cutting the weta as it un-sheathed. Sokka leapt to his feet, quickly assessing the situation. Jack was struggling against four wetas, Carl had picked up a heavy stick and had begun striking at a group of larger insects, Jimmy was trying to shoot the wetas off of Jack, and Lumpy was fighting a five to one battle against the huge, carnivorous worms. Without another moments thought, Sokka rushed to Lumpy's side, swinging his boomerang to and fro like a miniature axe. He swiped at one worm, dismembering the top courter of its body; he spun around, slashing at another. The creature lurched back and hissed like a large, obese snake. It lunged at Sokka, maw biting on thin air as Sokka side stepped and brought his boomerang down in a hacking arc, cutting through the worm's flesh. The monster fell into the thick mud with a heavy splash.

He looked around again; Carl still growled and swung his tree branch like one possessed, seeming to enjoy bringing death to the far too large insects. Jimmy was still shooting off what wetas still clung to Jack, and Lumpy… Sokka gasped in horror, Lumpy had three of the grotesque monsters swarming him, and his left arm and right leg were being chewed by two of the worms. Giving a mighty shout of rage and grief, the cook heaved his machete with all his might, and in a split second; three worm heads went sailing through the air. Sokka leapt forward, slashing at the worm that had taken hold of Lumpy's leg, the creature hissed, but would not yield to Sokka's boomerang. With one last heave, however, Sokka slashed the worm in two, and its limp maw released Lumpy's leg.

Sokka turned to the worm chewing on the cooks arm, carefully examining where he could hit the worm without hurting Lumpy. The cook shouted, trying to slash and hack at the creature that was just a foot out of reach. Sokka sliced down on the worm, grunting as he tried to remove the boomerang. But the blade had become stuck in the mushy flesh. Sokka gritted his teeth, and wrenched at the handle with both hands. The worm still clung to Lumpy, who slowly began to tire. Sokka grunted tiredly, and suddenly, he was filled with an immense strength, and with another mighty heave, the worm's head was severed from its body, and the head fell into the muddy stream. Lumpy slowly began to fall, but Sokka quickly caught him and dragged him away from the mud. Lumpy's breath came in short, heavy breaths. Sokka appraised the cook's injuries, and his eyes grew wide in horror. Nearly half of Lumpy's leg had been torn off, and all that remained below the knee was a bleeding stump, as for the cook's arm, it was covered in deep scratches. Sokka bit his lip, he knew enough about treating injuries to know that Lumpy would not see the light of the next, and probably not the next hour.

Lumpy coughed and rasped, and spoke so quietly that Sokka had to lean in very close to hear the dying man's words "did… did I get em'?" he asked weakly. Sokka sat up straight and nodded, trying to hold back tears "yeah… you got em' good" the young warrior managed to say. Lumpy took in several deep breaths before continuing "it's not good, is it?" he asked weakly. Sokka bit his lip and replied "no, it's not good" Lumpy nodded. He seemed contempt at this moment, as he lay there. He stared into space for a moment, but then gunshots echoed around the chasm, and insects began falling from higher up on the walls. Sokka looked up, and he gave a shout of joy as he saw Englehorn's figure standing at the edge of the crevice, shooting at the insects crawling down. "Lumpy! Look! It's Englehorn! He…" Sokka trailed off as he realised that Lumpy could no longer listen to him. Sokka sat there for a moment, despite the gunshots ringing in his ears. Gently, the warrior pulled the cook's eyelids down over his glazed eyes, and finally, the tears came.

End of chapter 13.

I was originally going to make this chapter longer. But I took my dad's advice and did a short chapter. I'm getting lazy with this… basically pointless chapter… except for Kong being saved and Momo being dragged out of the chasm.

Sorry I took so long.


End file.
